Comparative analysis of tidepool fish species composition on tropical coastal rocky reefs at State of Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. This study compared tidepool fish assemblages within and among habitats at Iparana and Pecém beaches, State of Ceará, Northeast Brazil, using visual census techniques. A total of 8,914 fishes, representing 25 families and 43 species were recorded. The most abundant taxon was Sparisoma spp, followed by Haemulon parra (Desmarest, 1823), Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch, 1787) and Abudefduf saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758). Haemulidae was the most abundant family in number of individuals, followed by Scaridae, Acanthuridae and Pomacentridae. Within-and between-site differences in species assemblages probably reflected environmental discontinuities and more localized features, such as pool isolation episodes, or environmental complexity, both acting isolated or interactively. The locality of Iparana was probably subjected to a greater fishing pressure and tourism than Pecém, a potential cause for the observed lowest fish abundance and biodiversity. We conclude that tidepool ichthyofauna may be quite variable between and within reef sites. Thus, observations taken from or damages caused on one area may not be generalized to or mitigated by the protection of adjacent sites. KEYWORDS.Visual census, fish assemblages, abundance, biodiversity.RESUMO. Análise comparativa da composição das espécies de peixes em poças de maré em recifes costeiros no estado do Ceará, Brasil. Este estudo comparou assembléias de peixe em poças de maré dentro e entre hábitats nas praias de Iparana e Pecém, estado do Ceará, nordeste do Brasil, usando técnicas de censo visual. Um total de 8.914 peixes, representando 25 famílias e 43 espécies foi registrado. Sparisoma spp. formaram o taxon mais abundante, seguido por Haemulon parra (Desmarest, 1823), Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch, 1787) e Abudefduf saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758). Haemulidae foi a família mais abundante em número de indivíduos, seguida por Scaridae, Acanthuridae e Pomacentridae. Diferenças encontradas nas assembléias de espécies provavelmente refletiram descontinuidades ambientais e aspectos mais localizados, como a ocorrência de isolamento das poças, ou complexidade ambiental atuando de forma isolada ou interativamente. A localidade de Iparana provavelmente foi submetida a uma maior pressão de pesca e turismo que Pecém, uma causa potencial para a menor abundância e biodiversidade de peixes observada. Concluímos que a ictiofauna de poça de maré pode ser variável dentro dos recifes e entre localidades diferentes. Assim, observações tomadas ou os danos causados em uma dada área não podem ser generalizados ou mitigados para a proteção de locais adjacentes. PALAVRAS-CHAVE.Censo visual, assembléias de peixe, abundância, biodiversidade.

Structure and composition of fish assemblages from São Sebastião Channel tide pools, southwestern Atlantic

“…In our study, we observed 13 species of fishes, as already reported for other tide pools under similar latitude, while those in the tropics had at least 40 species (e.g. Rosa et al 1997, Cunha et al 2008). These differences from other studied areas could be a sampling effect, since we only studied four tide pools, which may restrict the generalization of our conclusions.…”

“…Even the largest tide pools (SF and BI) had a smaller area and volume than those from tropical areas from the Southwestern Atlantic, such as those from the northeastern coast of Brazil (e.g. Rosa et al 1997, Cunha et al 2008, Godinho & Lotufo 2010. In our study area, rocky shores are formed by igneous Carvalho-Filho (1999), 8 Floeter et al (2007), 9 Ferreira et al (2004).…”

“…Almeida 1973, Rosa et al 1997, Machado et al 2015, but in the last decade this has changed, particularly in the Northeast (e.g. Cunha et al 2007, Cunha et al 2008, Godinho & Lotufo 2010 and Southeast Brazil (e.g. Barreiros et al 2004, Macieira & Joyeux 2011, with many studies focusing on community ecology of tide pools (but see Soares et al 2013 for an ecomorphological approach).…”

Impact of the construction of the harbor at pecém (Ceará, Brazil) upon reef fish communities in tide pools

“…In the present study, as well as in Carvalho (2000), Cunha at al. (2007) and Cunha et al (2008), Haemulidae and Lutjanidae were the most abundantly represented families in the tide pools at Pecém and Iparana (Ceará). At the latter location, Gerreidae and Pomacentridae were also relatively abundant (Cunha, 2000).…”

A protocol for measuring spatial variables in soft-sediment tide pools

“…Several studies have been carried out aiming to describe the composition and abundance of fish species, and their spatial and temporal variability in soft-sediment (e.g., Crabtree & Dean 1982, russell & garrett 1983, able et al 2005, Meager et al 2005, Chargulaf et al 2011) and hard-bottom (e.g., Cunha et al 2007, Cunha et al 2008) tide pools. The area and volume of hard-bottom pools have been obtained through the calculation of basic geometric forms (e.g., squares and cubes - Cunha et al 2007).…”