The effects of tourist visitation and food provisioning on fish assemblages were assessed by visual censuses (stationary technique) carried out in a tropical reef in Northeastern Brazil. Comparisons of species abundance, richness, equitability, and trophic structure in the presence (PT) and absence (AT) of tourists suggest that tourist visitation and supplementary food influenced the structure of the fish assemblage, as follows: (a) diversity, equitability and species richness were significantly higher on the AT period, while the abundance of a particular species was significantly higher during PT; (b) trophic structure differed between the AT and PT periods, omnivores being more abundant during the latter period, while mobile invertivores, piscivores, roving herbivores and territorial herbivores were significantly more abundant on AT. Reef tourism is increasingly being regarded as an alternative to generate income for human coastal communities in the tropics. Therefore, closer examination of the consequences of the various components of this activity to reef system is a necessary step to assist conservation and management initiatives.Os efeitos da visitação turística e da alimentação suplementar sobre a ictiocenose foram avaliados por meio de censos visuais (técnica estacionária) em um recife tropical no nordeste do Brasil. Comparações entre a abundância das espécies, riqueza, equitabilidade e estrutura trófica na presença (PT) e na ausência (AT) de turistas sugerem que a visitação turística e a alimentação suplementar influenciam a estrutura da ictiocenose, como segue: (a) diversidade, equitabilidade e riqueza de espécies foram significativamente maiores no período AT, enquanto a abundância de uma única espécie foi significativamente maior durante o período PT; (b) a estrutura trófica foi diferente entre os períodos AT e PT, com os onívoros sendo mais abundantes no último período, enquanto invertívoros móveis, piscívoros, herbívoros errantes e herbívoros territoriais foram significativamente mais abundantes no período AT. O turismo em ambientes recifais é cada vez mais uma opção na geração de renda para diversas comunidades costeiras nos trópicos. Conseqüentemente, investigações mais detalhadas sobre as conseqüências dos vários componentes desta atividade sobre o sistema recifal são necessárias para subsidiar iniciativas de manejo e conservação.

Habitat use and the processes which determine fish distribution were evaluated at the reef flat and reef crest zones of a tropical, algal-dominated reef. Our comparisons indicated significant differences in the majority of the evaluated environmental characteristics between zones. Also, significant differences in the abundances of twelve, from thirteen analyzed species, were observed within and betweensites. According to null models, non-random patterns of species co-occurrences were significant, suggesting that fish guilds in both zones were non-randomly structured. Unexpectedly, structural complexity negatively affected overall species richness, but had a major positive influence on highly site-attached species such as a damselfish. Depth and substrate composition, particularly macroalgae cover, were positive determinants for the fish assemblage structure in the studied reef, prevailing over factors such as structural complexity and live coral cover. Our results are conflicting with other studies carried out in coraldominated reefs of the Caribbean and Pacific, therefore supporting the idea that the factors which may potentially influence reef fish composition are highly site-dependent and variable.

Shallow reefs on the northeastern coast of Brazil are rich, productive and diverse environments, with great ecological and economical importance. Picãozinho is located 1,500 m off the coast of João Pessoa city, Paraíba state, NE Brazil. The aim of this work is to provide an updated list of the reef fishes of Picãozinho, based on a survey of approximately 350 hours of direct observation using free dive techniques, and complemented by collection data and other unpublished records. A total of 102 species of 43 families were recorded. Of these, 36 are new occurrences for the reef and seven are species that have been recently resurrected from synonymy, mainly with Caribbean species previously cited for Brazil.

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