Reef quality criteria for marine reserve selection: an example from eastern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT1. A novel protocol was developed for ecological prioritization of coral reefs for inclusion in a marine reserve network. Standard benthic survey data were normalized and combined in a conservation priority index (CPI) which rates individual candidate sites according to their ecological values and their potential contributions to an effective network.2. The CPI differentiates between sites on the basis of strength or weakness of surrogates for desirable attributes such as benthic biodiversity, reef-building capacity and hard-coral resilience.3. Biodiversity and reef-building attributes (more is better) were assigned progressive weightings (high abundance, high score), whereas neutral or detrimental attributes (less is better) were assigned regressive weightings (high abundance, low score).4. Abundance of small corals (new recruits and remnants) was included as an indicator of a site's potential for recovery following disturbance.5. The CPI rankings were used in conjunction with multidimensional scaling to prioritize candidate sites for a proposed reserve network near Salvador, Brazil. The information is complementary to considerations of existing uses and socio-economic considerations, in the prioritization of reefs for protection.6. The approach ensured that ecological inputs to the broader marine spatial planning process embraced both representativeness of biodiversity per se and the investigator's evaluation of key qualitative site attributes (amount, size, and resilience indicators for the critical architectural components hard coral and encrusting coralline algae).

Brazilian coral reefs in a period of global change: A synthesis

“…A cored reef revealed Holocene carbonate buildups with a thickness of approximately 10 m lying on a preCambrian rocky substrate (NOLASCO; LEÃO, 1986), and deeper reef structures occur towards the continental shelf break (KIKUCHI; LEÃO, 1998). In the area from Todos os Santos Bay to Camamu Bay, relatively continuous shallow fringing reefs border the islands' shores, and shallow bank reefs having a relatively round profile are to be observed in the interior of the bays CRUZ et al, 2009CRUZ et al, , 2015KIKUCHI et al, 2010). The Pinaunas reef that borders the shore of Itaparica Island in Todos os Santos Bay has a cored reef structure that is 8 m thick and of Holocene age that grew above the island substrate (ARAUJO et al, 1984) (Figure 6), and near Camamu Bay, a non-continuous line of shallow reefs borders the shore of the Tinharé and Boipeba Islands (Figure 7).…”

“…For the fishes, the protocol will use the following: density, richness and diversity per family and per group (herbivores, carnivores and omnivores) and measurements of their size. The relative coverage of the functional groups of algae (macro, coralline, and turf), sponges, zoanthids, sea urchins and other organisms considered important for the reefs investigated will also be considered (LEÃO et al 2015). We hope that in the near future we shall be in possession of an accurate assessment of the condition of Brazilian coral reefs.…”

Spongivory by Fishes on Southwestern Atlantic Coral Reefs: No Evidence of Top-Down Control on Sponge Assemblages

“…Unlikely these spatial differences are only caused by natural variables. But, we believe that these patterns are strongly influenced by multiple human activities (e.g., fishing, sedimentation, effluents) which also change in space and influence reef environmental quality in this bay (e.g., Cruz et al, 2014). For instance, several coral reefs in TSB have historically undergone anthropic impacts such as contamination by organic and inorganic pollution from domestic influxes and industrial effluents (e.g., Souza Santos et al, 2000; Barros et al, 2012;Hatje and Barros, 2012).…”

“…Therefore, the top-down control of spongivory on sponge assemblages could also be weak on coral reefs at other Southwestern Atlantic reef sites. In TSB, coral reefs are under intense ornamental fishing and trade (Sampaio, 2006) and combined with organic matter influxes and other factors can result in dominances of non-reef build groups, as sponges (McClanahan et al, 2002;Maliao et al, 2008;Cruz et al, 2014). Furthermore, there is an urgent need to carefully evaluate regulations of fishing and implementation of management plans for TSB, as in many parts of the world.…”

New records of the alien cup-corals (Tubastraea spp.) within estuarine and reef systems in Todos os Santos Bay, Southwestern Atlantic

“…This bay is considered a priority for conservation due to its high levels of coral endemism and to the great diversity of natural systems (Leão et al, 2003;Barros et al 2012a, b;Vila-Nova et al, 2014;Cruz et al, 2015). Previous studies in TSB have shown that this alien coral can modify the benthic assemblage structure on a coral reef site (Miranda et al, 2016).…”