Newly discovered reefs in the southern Abrolhos Bank,Brazil: Anthropogenic impacts and urgent conservation needs |
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| Authors: | EF Mazzei AA Bertoncini HT Pinheiro LF Machado CC Vilar HC Guabiroba TJF Costa LS Bueno LN Santos RB Francini-Filho M Hostim-Silva J-C Joyeux |
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| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil;2. Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza, Brazil;3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biodiversidade Neotropical), Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil;4. Instituto Meros do Brasil, Curitiba, PR, Brazil;5. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA;6. Departamento de Morfologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil;7. Instituto COMAR-Conservação Marinha do Brasil, Joinville, SC, Brazil;8. Centro de Ciências Aplicadas e Educacão, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Rio Tinto, PB, Brazil;9. Centro Universitário Norte do Espírito Santo, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil;10. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of California Santa Cruz, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | The Abrolhos Bank is an area of high ecological, socio-economic importance and harbour the richest and most-extensive coral reefs in the South Atlantic. Here we report the discovery of shallow (12–25 m depth) reef complex with ten large biogenic structures, intermediate between the typical mushroom-shaped pinnacles of the northern Abrolhos Bank (17°–18° S) and the small patch reefs found on the central/southern coast of the Espírito Santo State (19°–20° S). The newly discovered reefs harbour a relatively rich and abundant reef community, with 73 fish and 14 benthic cnidarian species, including endangered and commercially important ones. We discuss on urgent needs of properly mapping and understanding the ecological functioning of this reef system. Information provided here is a baseline for future impact evaluations, particularly considering the recent worst environmental disaster of Brazil from a dam collapse in Doce river that affected the region. |
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| Keywords: | Abrolhos Bank Coral reefs Reef fishes Conservation Mining dam collapse Environmental impact |
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