Bridging archaeology and marine conservation in the Neotropics

Abstract

Anthropogenic impacts on tropical and subtropical coastal environments are increasing at an alarming rate compromising ecosystem function, structure and services. Understanding the scale of marine population decline and diversity loss requires a long-term perspective that incorporates information from a range of sources. The Southern Atlantic Ocean, however, represents a major gap in our understanding of pre-industrial marine species composition. Here we contribute to fill this gap by performing an extensive review of the published data on Middle and Late Holocene marine fish composition along the southern coast of Brazil. This region preserves archaeological sites that are unique archives of past socio-ecological systems and of pre-European biological diversity. We assessed snapshots of species compositions and relative abundances spanning the last 5000 years, and modelled differences in species’ functional traits between archaeological and modern fisheries. We found evidence for both generalist and specialist fishing practices in pre-European times, with large body size and body mass caught regularly over hundreds of years. Comparison with modern catches revealed a significant decline in these functional traits, possibly associated with overfishing and the escalating human impacts in recent times.

Long-Term Perspective on Fishing and Mammal Defaunation in the Atlantic Forest Coast of Brazil Using Archaeological Faunal Remains

“…According to this theoretical proposition, there is a stronger focus on fishing as the proximity to the coast increases, which explains the higher dependence on fishing observed in PG-U21 (coastal) compared to MG1 (inland). Overall the results highlight the significant role of fishing in Babitonga Bay between the 18th and the 20th century, which adds to the growing evidence for a heavy reliance on fishing for food security for thousands of years in the region (Fossile et al, 2019, 2023; Toso et al, 2021). This is particularly significant given that fishers were often overlooked or inadequately represented in regional historical narratives (Silva, 1988, 2001).…”

“…Fish outnumbered other faunal remains at PG-U21, with an overall aggregate density (899/m³) comparable to, or higher than, some local Pre-colonial shell mounds (known as sambaquis , with densities from 42/m 3 to 7871/m 3 ) produced by groups subsisting largely on fishing (Fossile et al, 2019, 2023) (Figure 7B). Fishing intensification, however, appears to have occurred during the later phases of the site dated to the early 20th century.…”

A photographic atlas for European freshwater and migratory fish remains and key considerations for their analysis

“…Fish remains have provided numerous insights into past ecological conditions, such as species diversity and distributions, which are beneficial for understanding past and present biodiversity with regard to anthropogenic or environmental factors (Barrett, 2019; Kettle et al, 2008). Ichthyoarcheological evidence can also compliment documentary fishing records and provide greater chronological depth to understand the deterioration of local river systems, the introduction of species outside their native range, or make contributions to fishery or environmental policies (Fossile et al, 2023; Galik et al, 2015; Lentacker et al, 1997).…”

Brazilian Zooarch Database: banco de dados da fauna arqueológica do Brasil

“…anzóis e pontas/bipontas]) e em cerimônias ritualísticas (uso simbólico) (FERREIRA et al, 2019;KLOKLER, 2016;PROUS, 2018). Embora os aspectos culturais denotem certa seletividade, estudos têm demonstrado que os dados arqueofaunísticos possuem elevado potencial para fornecer informações únicas da biodiversidade pretérita, e da estrutura e função de ecossistemas (STAHL, 2008;LYMAN, 2017;FOSSILE et al, 2023). Tais informações contribuem nas abordagens sobre a ecologia de espécies e ambientes, a fim de auxiliar em análises de conservação e preservação, por exemplo, a respeito da defaunação (BOGONI et al, 2018;GALETTI et al, 2017).…”