Evaluating the potential of different benthic indicators to assess sandy beach ecological integrity: subsides for management and monitoring practices

• Grant number: 18/22036-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2019
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Alexander Turra
• Grantee: Hélio Hermínio Checon
• Home Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/03804-9 - Environmental governance of macrometropolis paulista in face of climate variability, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

Marine ecosystems are under constant pressure from anthropic activities. Sandy beaches are among the most threatened coastal ecosystem, despite the social, cultural and economic services provided by them. Conversely, sandy beaches studies with conservation focus are scarce, which jeopardizes the effectiveness of monitoring and management plans in this ecosystem. This scenario creates a need for studies that can support strategies to evaluate and monitor the ecological integrity of these ecosystems. Many different approaches are developed to evaluate the ecological integrity via indicator taxa or benthic indices, based on different ecological scales (e.g. organisms, population, assemblages). Benthic indices, for instance, are widely applied in prominent marine monitoring programs in other coastal ecosystems, but its effectiveness in sandy beaches monitoring, and along the Brazilian Coast, is overlooked. The aim of this project is to characterize the ecological integrity of several sandy beaches along the Northern Coast of São Paulo using different indicator approaches (benthic indices and indicator taxa). We will evaluate and compare the performance of each approach by establishing a relationship between indicator taxa and benthic indices with environmental variables and disturbance proxies. The results established by the performance evaluation and comparison between different metrics can indicate which can be better applied by management programs, giving subsides for the establishment of cost-effective monitoring programs to evaluate ecological integrity and support conservation of sandy beaches along the Brazilian Coast

Scientific publications

(6)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CORTE, GUILHERME N.; CHECON, HELIO H.; SHAH ESMAEILI, YASMINA; LEFCHECK, JONATHAN S.; AMARAL, A. CECILIA Z. Mangrove fragments as key coastal reservoirs of taxonomic and functional biodiversity. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION, v. 30, n. 5 MAR 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

VIEIRA, DANILO CANDIDO; GALLUCCI, FABIANE; CORTE, GUILHERME NASCIMENTO; CHECON, HELIO HERMINIO; ZACAGNINI AMARAL, ANTONIA CECILIA; FONSECA, GUSTAVO. The relative contribution of non-selection and selection processes in marine benthic assemblages. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, v. 163, JAN 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

ABRAO LAURINO, IVAN RODRIGO; CHECON, HELIO HERMINIO; CORTE, GUILHERME NASCIMENTO; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Flooding affects vertical displacement of intertidal macrofauna: A proxy for the potential impacts of environmental changes on sandy beaches. ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, v. 245, OCT 30 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CORTE, GUILHERME N.; YOKOYAMA, LEONARDO Q.; TARDELLI, DANIEL T.; CHECON, HELIO H.; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Spatial patterns of the gastropod Olivella minuta reveal the importance of tide-dominated beaches and the subtidal zone for sandy beach populations. REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE, v. 39, SEP 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CHECON, HELIO H.; SILVA, MARIANA O.; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; YOKOYAMA, LEONARDO Q.; TEODOSIO, M. ALEXANDRA; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Full stomachs at empty tides: tidal cycle affects feeding activity and diet of the sandy beach gastropod Olivella minuta. Journal of Molluscan Studies, v. 86, n. 3, p. 219-227, AUG 2020. Web of Science Citations: 1.

LUCIANA YOKOYAMA XAVIER; LEANDRA REGINA GONÇALVES; HELIO HERMÍNIO CHECON; GUILHERME CORTE; ALEXANDER TURRA. ARE WE MISSING THE BIGGER PICTURE? AN ANALYSIS OF HOW SCIENCE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACH FOR BEACH MANAGEMENT ON THE SÃO PAULO MACROMETROPOLIS. Ambiente & Sociedade, v. 23, p. -, 2020.