Does the material on sandy beaches influence the composition of local benthic communities?

• Grant number: 20/16042-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Querobim Yokoyama
• Grantee: Ricardo Moreira de Jesus Paula
• Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems are regions of ecological transition between marine and terrestrial environments, which have availability to organic and inorganic inputs, which can favor primary productivity and population abundance. Among the examples of contributions, there are the materials provided, which are usually carried by the action of the waves and have a great diversity associated with them. These materials play a large role as an organic supply in the coastal food network, especially for regions with a lack of local products, such as some sandy beaches. Several studies indicate that the beach benthic macrofauna is intensely associated with this material since phytoplankton and local benthic microflora are not sufficient to subsidize all beach fauna. In addition, the decomposition of the deposited material provides nutrients to the sediment, in addition to improvements in temperature and humidity conditions, generating a possible increase in the primary productivity of microfitobento. Research on the vegetal and macrofaunistic composition of the material stored on beaches is almost nil in Brazil, with more consistent information only on the coast of Paraná, while studies involving the direct relationship of the material with the productivity of microfitobentus are scarce. In this sense, the present project intends to identify the vegetal composition of the arribada material and the composition of the associated macrobenthic communities, besides verifying its influence on the primary production of microphytobenthos, on the Praia do Barra do Una, south coast of São Paulo. For this, we will evaluate samples of packed material, and of bare sediment, in addition to samples with sediment covered by packed material. Subsequently, the identification of the plant constituents and the fauna included will occur, in addition to procedures to calculate the concentration of photosynthetic pigments of the microfilaments that will be retained. (AU)