Unusual high coral cover in a Southwestern Atlantic subtropical reef

Author(s)

Grillo, Ana Carolina ^{[1, 2]} ; Candido, Carolina F. ^[3] ; Giglio, Vinicius J. ^[4] ; Longo, Guilherme O. ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Dept Oceanog & Limnol, Marine Ecol Lab, Av Senador Dinarte Medeiros Mariz S-N, BR-59014002 Natal, RN - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Ctr Biosci, Grad Program Ecol, Av Sen Salgado Filho 3000, BR-9064741 Natal, RN - Brazil

^[3] Inst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade, Area Protecao Ambiental Baleia Franca, Av Santa Catarina 1465, BR-88780000 Imbituba, SC - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Sea Inst, Marine Ecol & Conservat Lab, Rua Carvalho Mendonca 144, BR-11070102 Santos, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MARINE BIODIVERSITY; v. 51, n. 5 OCT 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Subtropical Brazilian reefs are commonly composed by rocky frameworks with low coral abundance. Contrarily to most tropical reefs, our knowledge on coral assemblages in subtropical reefs is still developing. Queimada Grande is a subtropical island in the Brazilian coast lying 35 km offshore from the state of Sao Paulo (24oS). Despite the partial protection bestowed to this island, recreational fishing and scuba diving are considered important pressures on this ecosystem. We used photoquadrats to quantify the abundance of two dominant reef-building corals, Madracis decactis (Lyman, 1859) and the Brazilian endemic Mussismilia hispida (Verrill, 1902), on rocky reefs and in a previously unreported coral bank. The abundance of M. decactis and M. hispida accounted for 40-60% of the benthic cover, with the dominance of M. decactis in the coral bank and M. hispida in the rocky reefs. The coral cover at Queimada Grande Island is comparable to those in Brazilian tropical reefs and higher than those reported in corallith beds further south in Brazil, thus representing the southernmost reef with such high coral abundance in the Western Atlantic. Our study demonstrates the high tolerance of M. decactis and M. hispida and highlights this coral assemblage as a potential conservation hotspot. This is particularly important in the context of tropicalization, since subtropical areas might sustain great coralline communities in warmer scenarios driven by climate change. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/22273-0 - Ecological effects of recreational diving in subtropical marine protected areas
• Grantee: Vinicius Jose Giglio Fernandes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral