Annual and spatial variation of intertidal benthic community zonation in a breakwater off the Rio de Janeiro coast, south-eastern Brazil

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the vertical distribution of intertidal benthic organisms in different periods of the year, relating them to tide, air temperature, height and wave periodicity in breakwaters off the northern Rio de Janeiro State, and to compare the zonation at two sites (Pier and Barra) with distinct hydrodynamics, due to different wave swell. Quadrats of 400 cm 2 were sampled by a photoquadrat method. The upper limit of the marine organisms was higher at the Barra site (intertidal zone of 3.8 m) than at the Pier site (intertidal zone of 2.2 m). The littoral fringe assemblage did not show significant differences between sites, but a larger range of this fringe and the upper eulittoral band at Barra was quite evident. This site was mostly characterized by species of more exposed areas such as Chaetomorpha sp. and Perna perna in the upper and lower eulittoral bands, and by C. teedii and Ulva fasciata in the sublittoral fringe. A seasonal difference was identified in the air exposure degree at the Pier site, which was higher in October 2005 and February 2006. The air temperature and wave height and periodicity differed significantly among the four studied periods. The typical seasonal species were F. clenchi (July 2005 and October 2005), Gigartina domingensis (July 2005), Grateloupia sp. (October 2005) and Porphyra acanthophora (October 2005 and February 2006). The intermediate benthic band of the intertidal zone occupied a narrow zone, changing its spatial location according to the season of the year. The hypothesis of annual variation of the benthic community zonation according to the seasonal variability of tides, air temperatures and wave's height and periodicity was accepted for the intermediate band of the intertidal zone, due to the taxonomic differences and the abundance of dominant species in the four seasons. The difference in the vertical distribution of the intertidal benthic assemblages of both breakwaters highlights a distinct wave exposure condition, and reflects the breakwaters' orientation and the wave swell at each site.

Temporal and spatial variation of rocky shores intertidal benthic communities in Southeast Brazil

“…and Chthamalus bisinuatus. This result was also reported in other studies of the Brazilian coast (oLiveirA-fiLho & MAyAL, 1976;Coutinho, 2002;MAsi et al, 2009), demonstrating that these genera are tolerant to stress at the shore. The physical stress due to desiccation is decreased lower on the shore, corresponding to a larger number of recorded species.…”

“…Rocky shores in Brazil are present almost exclusively in the south and southeast regions (Coutinho, 2002), and many studies have described the vertical distribution of benthic fauna and flora of these environments (oLiveirA-fiLho & MAyAL, 1976;széChy & PAuLA, 2000;Coutinho, 2002;oigMAn-PszCzoL et al, 2004;MAsi et al, 2009). Although there are many studies on the benthic communities in Espírito Santo (sá & nALesso, 2000;nAssAr et al, 2001;nALesso et al, 2005;CostA & nALesso, 2006;fLoeter et al, 2007), few reports have focused on the vertical distribution of the intertidal faunal and floral communities of the region.…”

Taxonomic Level Needed to Detect Significant Changes in Polychaete Communities Over Different Macrophyte Assemblages on Rocky Intertidal Shores

“…The distribution of macrophytes on rocky intertidal shores shows a seasonal variation (Bellgrove et al, 2004;Masi et al, 2009;Marcías et al, 2017) so it may affect the diversity and abundance of polychaetes. Hence, future studies should compile polychaete and macrophyte data that are collected from whole seasons to obtain all those variations.…”

Estabelecimento de uma estação de monitoramento de longo prazo em habitat bentônico de substrato consolidado no litoral do Atlântico Sul: (Ecorregião Southeastern Brazil)

“…Estudos realizados nestas ecorregiões descreveram a distribuição vertical bentônica destes ambientes (ex. OLIVEIRA-FILHO & MAYAL, 1976;OLIVEIRA-FILHO & PAULA, 1983;SZÉCHY & PAULA, 2000;COUTINHO, 2002;COUTINHO & ZALMON, 2009;MASI et al,2009;CHRISTOFOLETTI et al, 2010CHRISTOFOLETTI et al, , 2011a.…”

“…Esta faixa é caracterizada pela presença da craca Chthamalus bisinuatus, já bem descrita na literatura (OLIVEIRA & PAULA, 1983;OLIVEIRA-FILHO & MAYAL, 1976;COUTINHO, 2002;MASI et al, 2009;VIANNA et al, 2014), Espaço vazio (COUTINHO et al, 2016) e Cianobactéria (JOLY, 1957). Neste estudo, consideramos…”