Monitoring of midlittoral macroalgal morpho-functional groups at Pernambuco beach (Guarujá, São Paulo State)

• Grant number: 16/02543-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2016
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Natalia Pirani Ghilardi-Lopes
• Grantee: Helena Rodrigues Fragoso
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Global climate change (GCC) have resulted in profound changes in benthic communities. Hard-bottom benthic communities feature various environmental conditions. As a result, their structure differs considerably and each have different sensitivities becoming, thus, in contrasting models to access the consequences of GCC. The ReBentos Network (FAPESP / CNPq) was created with a view to long-term monitoring of benthic ecosystems, following standardized protocols developed by the network researchers. This project is proposed to install a monitoring station at Pernambuco Beach (Guaruja, SP) midlittoral, following the Rebento's protocol. With the limitation of time and space replicates, this project will be a baseline study, which main question is related to how the permanent sample units relate to the abiotic variables on the location. The sampling domain will be the midlittoral, in which 5 sampling units consisting of digital photographs will be randomly positioned. The operational unit will be the morpho-functional groups of macroalgae and the primary descriptors will be the percent cover, assessed using the technique of random points on the images, and the amplitude (in meters) of algae range. The data will be expressed as the mean values and their confidence intervals and analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, PCA, BEST, RELATE and DisLM.