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Community structure and diet of roving herbivorous reef fishes were analysed in 13 study sites around the five islands of the Abrolhos Archipelago, north-eastern Brazil (17°589 S; 38°429 W). This area has been part of the Abrolhos Marine National Park since 1983. Abundances and diets of fishes within the families Scaridae, Acanthuridae and Kyphosidae were compared among groups of sites differing in benthic community structure and exposure regime. The abundance of roving herbivorous fishes was higher in shallower sites than in deeper sites. At all study sites, observations of total herbivorous reef fish community structure revealed that 64% of fishes were acanthurids, 33% were scarids and only 4% were kyphosids. This pattern was predominant in all study sites. The majority of fishes examined in this study had the bulk of their diet based on both algae (35-90%) and detritus (35-65%). Among groups of algae, filamentous algae were the most commonly consumed as the majority of roving herbivorous fishes in Abrolhos feed as scrapers and excavators. The exceptions were the kyphosids, which had a diet consisting primarily of macroalgae (mainly Phaeophyta), and Acanthurus coeruleus that consumed mainly turf algae and very little detritus. The data collected indicate that roving herbivorous fishes in the Abrolhos Archipelago are more abundant at calm sites where detritus and delicate algae, their major food resources, are more abundant. The results presented here, along with underwater observations, suggest that the abundance and diet of these three fish families are associated with substratum cover.

A rocky shores working group (WG) integrated with ReBentos (Monitoring Network for Coastal Benthic Habitats; Rede de Monitoramento de Habitats Bentônicos Costeiros) was created and linked to the Coastal Zones Sub Network of the Climate Network (MCT; Sub-Rede Zonas Costeiras da Rede Clima) and to the National Institute of Science and Technology for Climate Change (INCT-MC; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia para Mudanças Climáticas), to study the vulnerability of benthic communities on rocky shores and the effects of environmental changes on biomes in such environments along the Brazilian coast. The synthesis presented here was one of the products of this GT, and aimed to collect and review existing knowledge on benthic communities present on rocky shores of the Brazilian coast, their associated biodiversity, and the potential of future studies to accurately predict/measure the effects of climate change on such environments and their biota.

No abstract

The volcanic island of Trindade is located 620 miles from the coast of Espirito Santo State, Brazil. This island together with the Martin Vaz Archipelago, are the only visible portions of the Vitoria-Trindade submarine ridge. The benthic flora of this region is poorly known. Of the 17 Chlorophyta, 11 Phaeophyta and 35 Rhodophyta identified (total of 63 taxa), the majority are newly cited for the region (15 Chlorophyta, 10 Phaeophyta, 34 Rhodophyta). The most common orders are Caulerpales (Chlorophyta), Dictyotales (Phaeophyta) and Ceramiales (Rhodophyta).