Rolling Stones of the South: conditions for rhodolith development below the Equator

• Grant number: 25/12843-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany
• Mobility Program: SPRINT - Projetos de pesquisa - Mobilidade
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Henrique Pereira Filho
• Grantee: Guilherme Henrique Pereira Filho
• Principal researcher abroad: Dr Sebastian Teichert
• Institution abroad: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) , Germany
• Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Santos
• Associated research grant: 24/18865-2 - Facilitation Mechanisms in Rhodolith Beds: From Formation to the Promotion of Associated Biodiversity, AP.R

Abstract

In the course of this SPRINT propoasal, we intend to gather evidence to test the hypothesis that the formation of the rhodolith beds currently observed at Queimada Grande Island and Couves Island is linked to erosive processes experienced by the relict coral reefs found at both sites (e.g., . In Phase 3, we intend to develop a project focused on understanding the paleoceanographic conditions that allowed rhodolith beds formation throughout the large latitudinal range in which they are found in the Southwest Atlantic.To explore this hypothesis in the current FAPESP project (process 2024/18865-2), we will apply different dating techniques to core samples obtained both from the reef structure at Couves Island and from the rhodolith beds at both locations (i.e., Queimada Grande and Couves Islands). Additionally, we will use computed tomography techniques to analyze the internal structure of rhodoliths found in the different dated layers of the collected cores. Moreover, we will complement our approach via the establishment of a collaborative network with Dr. Teichert´s laboratory to better explore the rhodoliths responses and their utilization as proxies to environmental and climatic features. (AU)