Benthic Diversity of Sessile Organisms in Rocky Reef Habitats of Coastal Brazil: An Insight into the Implementation of Marine Protected Areas

Abstract

Marine Protected Areas are increasingly becoming a tool of choice for conservation and management of marine resources and ecosystems. Data on biodiversity are necessary to assist in establishing protected areas for conservation objectives to be met. Toward that effect, we investigated reef biodiversity patterns in three large-scale coastal regions of Brazil. The study areas comprised of an upwelling region, an adjacent high impacted region, and a more distant marine park. We surveyed four reef sites in each study region. Species counts of sessile benthic organisms, substrate relief, and average monthly water temperatures were recorded during the surveys. Benthic organisms were identified to the lowest taxa possible using still photos. Biodiversity was estimated using Shannon’s index on richness of organism taxa. Diversity was highest at the upwelling and high-impacted areas. No substrate relief patterns were found. Temperature readings showed lower average values at the upwelling and high impacted regions. Our results favor the upwelling region for establishment of a Marine Protected Area. Moreover, the similar diversity between the upwelling and the high impacted regions showed evidence of spillover effects from the former into the latter region, further demonstrating the importance of the former region for conservation.