Conservation status of the southernmost reef of the Amazon Reef System: the Parcel de Manuel Luís

Cordeiro, César A. M. M.; Quimbayo, Juan P.; Nunes, José de Anchieta C. C.; Nunes, Lucas T.; Sissini, Marina Nasri; Sampaio, Cláudio L. S.; Morais, Renato A.; Horta, Paulo Antunes; Aued, Anaide W.; Carraro, João Luís; Hajdu, Eduardo; Rocha, Luiz A.; Segal, Bárbara; Floeter, Sergio R.

doi:10.1007/s00338-020-02026-1

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The only study that quantified the benthic cover on one of these formations 32 , a rocky plateau at 23 m depth, reported that live corals and calcareous algae covered 9.2% (4.6% each) of the substrate. This number is within the range commonly observed in Brazilian biogenic reefs 54 – 56 . However, maybe except for the mostly organic Açu reefs, it is generally not known how much these bioconstructors contribute to the framework of the SAC habitats.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

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Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America

Carneiro¹,

Neto

Jucá-Queiroz

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Large gaps in reef distribution may hinder the dispersal of marine organisms, interrupting processes vital to the maintenance of biodiversity. Here we show the presence and location of extensive reef habitats on the continental shelf between the Amazon Reef System (ARS) and the Eastern Brazilian Reef System (ERS), two reef complexes off eastern South America. Formations located 20–50 m deep include both biogenic and geogenic structures. The presence of diverse reef assemblages suggests the widespread occurrence of rocky substrates below 50 m. These habitats represent an expansion of both the ARS and ERS and the closure of the only remaining large-scale gap (~ 1000 km) among West Atlantic reef environments. This indicates that the SW Atlantic harbors a single, yet heterogeneous, reef system that stretches for about 4000 km, and thus, represents one of the largest semi-continuous tropical marine ecosystems in the world.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…These reefs are located at the border of the Amazon and the Semi-Arid Reef Systems but are generally considered to belong to the former. They are coral-rich formations, which rise steeply to the surface and reach shallow depths 54 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America

Carneiro¹,

Neto

Jucá-Queiroz

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…8 ) can be a threat to the unique 1000 km long mesophotic carbonate reef system between French Guiana and Brazil 62 , 63 , which include the Parcel Manuel Luís Marine State Park containing reef formations mainly composed of calcareous algae 64 . In addition to the competition with the anthozoan Palythoa caribaeorum 65 , the arrival of sun-coral larvae in the region can affect the survival of Brazilian endemic coral species such as Siderastrea stellata, Favia gravida , and Mussismilia hispida 66 . Successful colonization of this system may intensify the sun-coral invasion process of the Caribbean Sea due to the ecological connectivity of this region with the Brazilian biogeographical province 67 , 68 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western boundary currents drive sun-coral (Tubastraea spp.) coastal invasion from oil platforms

Coelho

Gherardi

Gouveia

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Most marine species have a planktonic larval phase that benefit from the surface oceanic flow to enhance their dispersion potential. For invasive species, the interaction of environmentally resistant larvae with different flow regimes and artificial substrates can lead to complex larval dispersion patterns and boost geographic expansion. In the Southwest Atlantic, the invasive corals Tubastraea spp. (sun-coral) have been recorded biofouling on oil platforms since the late 1980s. These platforms are considered important vectors for the established populations throughout the Brazilian coast. However, we still do not know how the position of these structures relative to regional flow contribute to the natural dispersion potential of these invaders on a regional scale. Herein, we used an eddy-resolving ocean model (ROMS) and an Individual Based Model (IBM-Ichthyop) to simulate the natural dispersion patterns of sun-coral larvae from all oil platforms on Brazilian oil-producing basins, for the austral summer and winter along 6 years (2010–2015) in 90-day simulations. We found that mortality rates by advection were significantly higher during the winter (p = 0.001) and when sources of larvae were compared throughout this season (p = 1.9 × 10–17). The influence of two western boundary currents and persistent eddy activity contribute to the dispersal of larvae to distances up to 7000 km. The effectiveness of each oil-producing basin as vectors for the entire Brazilian coastline, measured as the percentage of larval supply, highlights the importance of the northern Ceará (59.89%) and Potiguar (87.47%) basins and the more central Camamu (44.11%) and Sergipe-Alagoas (39.20%) basins. The poleward shift of the Southern branch of the South Equatorial Current during the winter causes larvae released from the Sergipe-Alagoas and Camamu basins to enter the North Brazil Current, expanding their dispersion towards the north. The Brazil Current disperses larvae southwards, but strong mesoscale activity prevents their dispersion to the coast, especially for those released from the oil platforms on Campos and Santos basins. Within this complex hydrodynamic setting, a few source areas, like those in the Sergipe-Alagoas and Camamu basins, can potentially contribute to the spread of larvae along nearly all the Brazilian coast. Therefore, oil platforms act as possible chronic sources of sun-coral propagules to the coast, emphasizing the urgency for a more detailed set of actions to control and monitor these invasive exotic species.

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“…The Amazon reefs (AM) locality comprises deeper reefs (~70 to 220m) that are influenced by the Amazon River plume and are characterized by low complexity and largely composed of crustose calcareous algae platforms and rhodoliths beds (Moura et al, 2016;Francini-Filho et al, 2018). The Parcel do Manuel Luıś (PML) locality comprises shallower and more complex reefs (~30m) formed of pillar and wall pinnacles, patch reefs, rhodolith beds and shipwrecks (Leão et al, 2003;Moura et al, 2016;Francini-Filho et al, 2018;Cordeiro et al, 2021). The locality of Archipelago of São Pedro and São Paulo (SPSP), the most remote oceanic island, is formed of rocky shallow reefs up to 30 m depth and deeper reefs beyond 100 m depth (Magalhães et al, 2015).…”

Section: Coral Data and Localitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas the Parcel do Manuel Luıś reefs are shallower (<30m) and more complex, positioned at the southern limit of the GARS and thus less influenced by the Amazon River Plume. Reefs in this region are composed of pillar and wall pinnacles, patchy reefs and rhodolith beds, but there are also shipwrecks that sustain coral assemblages (Leão et al, 2003;Moura et al, 2016;Francini-Filho et al, 2018;Cordeiro et al, 2021). Parcel do Manuel Luıś is also the only location where the Brazilian endemic hydrocoral species Millepora laboreli occurs (Amaral et al, 2008).…”

Section: R7mentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic and functional diversity of zooxanthellate corals and hydrocorals in Southwestern Atlantic reefs

Bleuel,

Waechter,

Bender

et al. 2024

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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The Southwestern Atlantic (SWA) harbors a relatively species poor but highly endemic coral assemblage due to historical processes, environmental and ecological drivers. Despite its low to moderate cover, corals still have a disproportionate contribution to ecosystem function and stability in this region. In the context of global change, it is imperative to know corals’ diversity and biogeographic patterns, yet a comprehensive approach is still missing for SWA corals. We integrated occurrence data from 21 sites and nine functional traits across 20 coral (scleractinian and hydrozoan) species to explore the taxonomic and functional diversity of coral assemblages in the SWA (1°N-27°S). We identified eight regions based on coral species composition, and then described their functional diversity using four metrics: functional richness (FRic), functional dispersion (FDis), functional evenness (FEve), and functional originality (FOri). Taxonomic and functional diversity peak between latitudes 13°S-20°S, decreasing with increasing distance from this diversity center, known as the Abrolhos Bank that harbors a wide continental platform. Our findings reveal a prevalent pattern of high functional redundancy across these eight regions (indicated by low functional originality), with species occupying the edges of the trait space (high functional evenness) and converging around few trait values (low functional dispersion). Such patterns resulted in low taxonomic and functional beta diversity and increased nestedness among regions caused by dispersal barriers and environmental filtering. The Southernmost region (24°-27°S) has the lowest taxonomic and functional diversity and comprises only two species that share similar traits, with these corals being: hermaphrodites, brooders and depth-tolerant, and having a wide corallite. As this region might become critical for corals in a future tropicalization scenario, tropical corals that share similar traits to those of the southernmost region can be more likely to thrive. Knowledge on taxonomic and functional diversity patterns can offer critical information to conservation by helping prioritizing areas with higher diversity and species with traits that enhance survival under climate change.

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Conservation status of the southernmost reef of the Amazon Reef System: the Parcel de Manuel Luís

Cited by 8 publications

References 93 publications

Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America

Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America

Western boundary currents drive sun-coral (Tubastraea spp.) coastal invasion from oil platforms

Taxonomic and functional diversity of zooxanthellate corals and hydrocorals in Southwestern Atlantic reefs

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