Temporal variations of Halodule wrightii meadows and associated fauna near their southern distribution limit in the southwestern Atlantic

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Halodule wrightii</jats:italic> meadows in Southern Brazil have been regressing in an unsheltered area of the subtropical Paranaguá Bay, near their southern limit in the SW Atlantic, since 2006. To identify early indicators of regression events, we assessed variations in plant and macrobenthic structure in two local meadows under unsheltered and protected conditions. Differences between sites increased after an epiphytic overgrowth of the alga <jats:italic>Hincksia mitchelliae</jats:italic> at the unsheltered site. Seagrass growth was suppressed and the numbers of burrowing and opportunistic benthic species increased with the increase of algal biomass. In the protected meadow, seagrass biomass and number of leaves changed seasonally, but macrobenthic abundance and species richness remained stable. Ecosystem changes were evident when the unsheltered meadow was already collapsing. The number of leaves per shoot, the horizontal internode length, the abundance and structure of the macrofaunal associations, and the host-epiphyte surface interactions, were the first variables to reflect the early stages of seagrass regression. Our results suggest that the persistence of <jats:italic>H. wrightii</jats:italic> meadows at their southern distribution limit in the SW Atlantic will be affected by local hydrodynamics and their ability to compete with ephemeral macroalgal species under stress conditions.</jats:p>