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 Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2019
• End date: June 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Alexander Turra
• Grantee: Hélio Hermínio Checon
• Host 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

(19)

(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)

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. (09/17585-6, 18/22036-0, 17/17071-9, 09/15893-5)

HELIO HERMINIO CHECON; LUCIANA YOKOYAMA XAVIER; LEANDRA REGINA GONÇALVES; CAUÊ D CARRILHO; ANELISE GOMES DA SILVA. Beach market: what have we been computing in Brazil?. Ocean and Coastal Research, v. 69, 2022-02-04. (17/21797-5, 15/03804-9, 18/22036-0, 18/19776-2, 18/00462-8)

CHECON, HELIO H.; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; SILVA, CAMILA F.; BICEGO, MARCIA C.; AMARAL, A. CECILIA Z.. Using the Capitella complex to investigate the effects of sympatric cryptic species distinction on ecological and monitoring studies in coastal areas. MARINE BIODIVERSITY, v. 51, n. 3, JUN 2021. (11/50317-5, 17/17071-9, 18/22036-0)

CHECON, HELIO H.; SILVA, MARIANA; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; YOKOYAMA, LEONARDO Q.; TEODOSIO, M. ALEXANDRA; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Night underwater rides: the activity of a sandy beach gastropod is affected by interactive effects of light availability and water level. MARINE BIOLOGY RESEARCH, v. 17, n. 5-6, OCT 2021. (09/15893-5, 17/17071-9, 09/17585-6, 18/22036-0)

CORTE, GUILHERME N.; CHECON, HELIO H.; ESMAEILI, YASMINA SHAH; DEFEO, OMAR; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Evaluation of the effects of urbanization and environmental features on sandy beach macrobenthos highlights the importance of submerged zones. Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 182, p. 12-pg., 2022-07-23. (18/19776-2, 18/22036-0, 15/03804-9, 17/17071-9)

ESMAEILI, YASMINA SHAH; CORTE, GUILHERME NASCIMENTO; CHECON, HELIO HERMINIO; CRUZ GOMES, TAUANE RAISSA; LEFCHECK, JONATHAN S.; ZACAGNINI AMARAL, A. CECILIA; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Comprehensive assessment of shallow surf zone fish biodiversity requires a combination of sampling methods. MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, v. 667, p. 131-144, JUN 10 2021. (18/19776-2, 15/03804-9, 17/17071-9, 18/22036-0)

ESMAEILI, YASMINA SHAH; CHECON, HELIO H.; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Parasitism by isopods in sandy beach fish assemblages: role of urbanization and environmental characteristics. Hydrobiologia, v. 848, n. 20, AUG 2021. (18/22036-0, 18/19776-2, 15/03804-9, 17/17071-9)

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. (17/17071-9, 18/22036-0, 09/15893-5, 09/17585-6, 15/03804-9)

CHECON, HELIO H.; MIRANDA, ALEX; BERS, ANNA VALERIA; QUINTINO, VICTOR; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Effects of sieve mesh-size on the identification of benthic assemblages and their relationships with habitats and environmental gradients. ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, v. 278, p. 11-pg., 2022-10-27. (18/22036-0)

CHECON, HELIO HERMINIO; ESMAEILI, YASMINA SHAH; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; MALINCONICO, NICOLE; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Locally developed models improve the accuracy of remotely assessed metrics as a rapid tool to classify sandy beach morphodynamics. PeerJ, v. 10, p. 26-pg., 2022-05-17. (17/17071-9, 15/03804-9, 18/22036-0, 18/19776-2)

CHECON, HELIO H.; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; ESMAEILI, YASMINA SHAH; MUNIZ, PABLO; TURRA, ALEXANDER. The efficacy of benthic indices to evaluate the ecological quality and urbanization effects on sandy beach ecosystems. Science of The Total Environment, v. 856, p. 11-pg., 2023-01-15. (18/19776-2, 18/05099-9, 18/22036-0, 17/17071-9, 15/03804-9)

CHECON, HELIO HERMINIO; XAVIER, LUCIANA YOKOYAMA; GONCALVES, LEANDRA REGINA; CARRILHO, CAUE D.; DA SILVA, ANELISE GOMES. each market: what have we been computing in Brazil. Ocean and Coastal Research, v. 69, n. 1, 2021. (18/22036-0, 17/21797-5, 18/00462-8, 15/03804-9, 18/19776-2)

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, p. 1573-1593, APR 2021. (16/10810-8, 11/50317-5, 17/17071-9, 18/22036-0, 18/05099-9)

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. (17/17071-9, 15/03804-9, 18/19776-2, 18/22036-0)

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. (18/22036-0, 16/10810-8, 17/17071-9, 11/50317-5)

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, p. 9-pg., 2020-08-01. (09/17585-6, 18/22036-0, 09/15893-5, 17/17071-9)

LAURINO, IVAN R. A.; CHECON, HELIO H.; CORTE, GUILHERME N.; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Does coastal armoring affect biodiversity and its functional composition on beaches?. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, v. 181, p. 13-pg., 2022-10-04. (18/19776-2, 18/22036-0, 15/03804-9, 17/17071-9)

LUCIANA YOKOYAMA XAVIER; LEANDRA REGINA GONÇALVES; HELIO HERMÍNIO CHECON; GUILHERME CORTE; ALEXANDER TURRA. ESTAMOS OLHANDO PARA O LADO CERTO? ANÁLISE DA CONTRIBUIÇÃO DA CIÊNCIA PARA UMA ABORDAGEM BASEADA EM ECOSSISTEMAS PARA A GESTÃO DE PRAIAS NA MACROMETRÓPOLE PAULISTA. Ambiente & Sociedade, v. 23, 2020-06-08. (17/17071-9, 17/21797-5, 19/04481-0, 15/03804-9, 18/22036-0, 18/19776-2, 19/13851-5)

SHAH ESMAEILI, YASMINA; N. CORTE, GUILHERME; CHECON, HELIO H.; G. BILATTO, CARLA; LEFCHECK, JONATHAN S.; ZACAGNINI AMARAL, ANTONIA CECILIA; TURRA, ALEXANDER. Revealing the drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of nearshore fish assemblages: Implications for conservation priorities. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, DEC 2021. (17/17071-9, 18/19776-2, 18/22036-0, 15/03804-9)