Reefs of the western tropical south Atlantic Ocean: distribution, environmental impacts and trends on environmental suitability due to climate changes
Papa de Kikuchi, R.K.; Leão, Z.M.A.N.; de Oliveira, M.D.M.; Soares, M.O.; de Araújo, M.E.; Feitosa, J.L.L.; Feitosa, C.V.; Alencar, C.E.R.D.; Freire, F.A.M. (2023). Reefs of the western tropical south Atlantic Ocean: distribution, environmental impacts and trends on environmental suitability due to climate changes, in: Landim Dominguez, J.M. et al. Tropical marine environments of Brazil. Spatio-temporal heterogeneities and responses to climate changes. pp. 111-140. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21329-8_5
In: Landim Dominguez, J.M. et al. (2023). Tropical marine environments of Brazil. Spatio-temporal heterogeneities and responses to climate changes. Springer: Cham. ISBN 978-3-031-21328-1; e-ISBN 978-3-031-21329-8. xvi, 266 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21329-8, more
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| Keywords |
Mussismilia braziliensis (Verrill, 1868) [WoRMS]; Mussismilia harttii (Verrill, 1868) [WoRMS]; Mussismilia hispida (Verrill, 1901) [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
marginal reefs; coralline environments; coral distribution; fish diversity; global change |
| Authors | | Top |
- Papa de Kikuchi, R.K.
- Leão, Z.M.A.N.
- de Oliveira, M.D.M.
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- Soares, M.O.
- de Araújo, M.E.
- Feitosa, J.L.L.
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- Feitosa, C.V.
- Alencar, C.E.R.D.
- Freire, F.A.M.
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| Abstract |
Reefs that grow in the western tropical South Atlantic are known as marginal reefs because they thrive in environmental conditions (e.g., elevated turbidity) far from those considered to be the optimal conditions for framework builders (calcareous skeleton secreting organisms, such as corals). This is assumed to be one reason for the lower taxonomic richness in coral species and relatively higher endemism compared to reefs in other regions of the world, such as the Caribbean and the Pacific. These reefs, considered hot spots of biodiversity and home to turbidity-tolerant corals, are increasingly affected by local anthropogenic-driven impacts (pollution, dredging-related sedimentation, overfishing, unregulated tourism, and bioinvasions), global climate changes (warming, heatwaves, acidification, and sea-level rise) and their synergic effects. As a consequence, ecosystem goods and services are severely affected. Reef location in relation to the coastline and to urbanized areas are key points of vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. In this chapter, we synthesize the main characteristics of the distribution of reef and coralline ecosystems of the tropical southwestern Atlantic. Finally, we use three endemic coral species (Mussismilia hispida, Mussismilia harttii and Mussismilia braziliensis) as proxies of the reef ecosystem to evaluate the trend of environmental suitability across the Brazilian Tropical Marine region in the RCP8.5 scenario. |
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