Rocky reef recruit biodiversity of Costa das Algas, Brazil

Description: The PELD (Long-term Program of Ecological Research) Coastal Habitats of Espírito Santo is part of the Brazilian LTER program and started in 2017. It is located on the Eastern Coast of Brazil, and includes coastal ecosystems including estuaries, mangroves, coastal reefs and rodolith beds. This is an innovative project to assess the temporal patterns in multiple coastal ecosystems in the East ern Brazil Marine Ecoregion, where there is a decadal warming trend. The program associates research and conservation, at three Conservation units: Coasta das Algas Environmental Protected Area (APACA), Santa Cruz Wildlife Refuge (RVSSC) and Municipal Reserves of Integral Protection of the mangroves of Piraquê-Açu and Piraquê-Mirim rivers (RPPAM). The project aims to investigate the interactions among abiotic, climatic and ecological dynamics in the benthic communities and Ichthyofauna assemblies associated with the estuaries, the mangroves and the Rhodolith beds. PELD-HCES counts with a research team coordinated by UFES in partnership with USP, UFBA, UFSB, UFF, UFPR, UNISUL, UFSC and the State University of Oregon, and funded by CNPQ, CAPES and FAPES. Funding: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Espírito Santo (FAPES) for Ana Carolina de Azevedo Mazzuco's post- doctoral fellowship and project grants to AFB (FAPES, PELD grant N 79054684/17; CNPq, PELD grant N 441243/2016-9; NUFES2017173192). AFB was also supported from CNPq grant N 441243/2016-9. Study Area Description: This study was carried in a marine protected area in the Eastern Brazil Marine Ecoregion (Área de Proteção Ambiental Costa das Algas). The coastal zone is characterized by diverse reef formations consisting of lateritic substrates, macroalgal, and rhodolith beds, distributed from the nearshore zone to the edge of the continental shelf. Coastal pelagic and benthic conditions are constantly influenced by E and NE winds caused by the South Atlantic high pressure system, strong internal tidal bores, and wave swells. Meteorological cold fronts occur periodically and influence vertical mixing of the water column and wave action. Episodic upwelling events occur mostly during spring and summer. This is a tropical region with an average air temperature of 25 °C that have experienced significant warming trends in the last four decades. Design Description: PELD HCES protocol for recruitment samples (2019) available at doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.05.008 Study Extent: The spatial coverage includes a unique locality, Costa das Algas, and five sites, Coqueiral, Gramuté, Enseada das Garças, Costa Bela, and Manguinhos. Temporal coverage corresponds to a time series field campaign conducted from May to December, 2019. Sampling Description: Five shallow reefs were chosen as study sites where recruitment was monitored. These sites are similar in their presence of lateritic substrate, easiness of access, geographical orientation, exposure to wave action, geomorphological features, and anthropogenic pressure. Recruitment was measured in macroalgal beds that are natural substrates at all sites, by sampling, sorting, and identifying species of macrofauna. Recruits (post-larvae, settlers and first juveniles) were sampled monthly from Sargassum sp. in the reef fringes or tidal pools, in five random samples of approximately 300 g of algae per site. Samples were placed in plastic bags, taken to the laboratory, and frozen at −20 °C for at least 24 h, then washed with freshwater on a 100 μm sieve to collect the fauna. Recruits were sorted, counted, and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level under stereomicroscope. In this dataset, we included all potential recruits without data refinement. Quality Control: Taxonomic validity was verified using the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS; www.marinespecies.org) and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS; https://obis.org/). Resource Homepage: http://bentos.ufes.br/conteudo/peld-coastal-habitats-esp%C3%ADrito-santo-peld-hces