Bleaching events are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide. Southwestern Atlantic corals are considered stresstolerant species that suffer less during bleaching episodes. Therefore, we investigated if the reef-building corals Mussismilia hispida and M. harttii are capable of spawning while fully bleached. We compared spermatozoa concentration and motility, egg diameter and embryo viability between seemingly healthy and bleached colonies for both species. Findings show that both species spawned viable gametes. Concentration and motility of newly-released spermatozoa were similar between healthy and bleached colonies for both species. Unlike M. hispida, a 10% reduction in size was found in egg diameter for M. harttii. Embryo viability for bleached M. hispida colonies did not decrease; for bleached M. harttii there was a reduction from 14.7 to 6.3%, but fertilization and larval development still took place. These findings describe the unprecedented episode of corals spawning viable gametes when entirely bleached, supporting the suggestion of greater resilience for Southwestern Atlantic corals.

The Brazilian coast was recently affected by the largest oil in its history. We exposed polyps of the South Atlantic reef-building coral Mussismilia harttii to 5 g of heavy crude oil collected from the spill. Polyps were able to remove the oil in less than two hours after exposure, through the production of mucus and gas bubbles. These findings are further evidence for the resilience of Mussismilia corals.

Resumo Apresenta-se o processo de elaboração do Índice Composto de Concepções Socioambientais (ICCSA): um questionário modelo multi-resposta que aborda os temas da Educação Ambiental, Sustentabilidade e Meio Ambiente sob a ótica da transição para Sociedades Sustentáveis. Durante o processo de elaboração foram realizadas duas fases de análises de consistência interna e validade, com a participação de especialistas. A versão final do ICCSA apresenta 43 afirmações, dispostas em seis dimensões, sugerindo suficiência quanto à confiabilidade interna e validades de conteúdo e discriminante. Os resultados mostram que o instrumento pode ser utilizado para indicar os posicionamentos em relação à transição para Sociedades Sustentáveis. Recomenda-se a realização de estudos futuros, com populações maiores, para complementar as análises de confiabilidade e validade com participantes não especialistas. O ICCSA encontra-se disponível para pesquisadoras que quiserem utilizá-lo.