scientific article | Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation
Veras PDC, Pierozzi-Jr I, Lino JB, Amado-Filho GM, Senna ARD, Santos CSG, Moura RLD, Passos FD, Giglio VJ, Pereira-Filho GH
Ecologically important marine ecosystems should be identified and protected, as is the case of the poorlyknown SW Atlantic rhodolith beds. Understanding the main variables predicting biodiversity patterns isessential for determining priority areas for conservation. Here, we analyzed the macroinvertebrate asso-ciated with rhodoliths from euphotic and mesophotic zones from the Fernando de Noronha Archipelagoinvestigating the drivers of diversity distribution in this habitat. Rhodoliths were sampled and vagilemacroinvertebrates (>500 m) were classified and quantified. We verified that estimated density oforganisms associated with rhodoliths in the euphotic zone was 17 % greater than the mesophoticzone. The communities along depth zones show dissimilarities, suggesting that both environments areecologically distinct. Comparisons with other ecosystems revealed that rhodolith beds have similardiversity of macroinvertebrates. We also found that four of the six tested variables predicted 85 % of thevariability observed in the vagile macroinvertebrate community (i.e. average diameter, depth, biomassof macroalgae and density of rhodoliths in the bed). These variables should be taken into account in future research in modeling the biodiversity associated with the rhodolith beds. This is especiallyrelevant in the SW Atlantic where the rhodolith beds seem to harbor an associated biodiversity greaterthan previous works had indicated, moreover, they represent one of the main ecosystems that are oftensuperimposed with mining activities.
Fields
Biodiversity
Community structure
Ecology
Focusgroups
Overall benthic (groups)
Algae (Macro, Turf and Crustose Coralline)
Locations
Brazil - Fernando Noronha
Platforms
SCUBA (open-circuit or unspecified)