Native species exploited by marine aquarium trade in Brazil

<div><p>Abstract: Brazil has an important role in marine ornamental trade, exploiting native species for both international and domestic market. A few works have previously assessed wild species exploited by the Brazilian marine aquarium industry and most of them focused solely on fish. Hence, the present paper intends to address an information gap regarding the species currently traded in the country, as well as concerning their conservation statuses. Thus, different sources of information were investigated and each species was categorized in accordance with existing lists of threatened species. A wide variety of native species was identified in Brazilian marine aquarium trade, including not only fish but also invertebrates, seaweeds and macrophytes. Some of these species were legally protected, but are still commerced anyway. Such illegal exploitation of native species causes increasing concerns about the sustainability of the activity. Therefore, in order to reduce environmental impacts caused by marine ornamental trade, Brazilian authorities should encourage the implementation of eco-fees, the purchase of eco-labeled aquarium products, the development of sustainable ornamental aquaculture and ecosystem-based management initiatives.</p></div

Carbonate Production by Benthic Communities on Shallow Coralgal Reefs of Abrolhos Bank, Brazil

<div><p>The abundance of reef builders, non-builders and the calcium carbonate produced by communities established in Calcification Accretion Units (CAUs) were determined in three Abrolhos Bank shallow reefs during the period from 2012 to 2014. In addition, the seawater temperature, the irradiance, and the amount and composition of the sediments were determined. The inner and outer reef arcs were compared. CAUs located on the inner reef shelf were under the influence of terrigenous sediments. On the outer reefs, the sediments were composed primarily of marine biogenic carbonates. The mean carbonate production in shallow reefs of Abrolhos was 579 ± 98 g m^-2 y^-1. The builder community was dominated by crustose coralline algae, while the non-builder community was dominated by turf. A marine heat wave was detected during the summer of 2013–2014, and the number of consecutive days with a temperature above or below the summer mean was positively correlated with the turf cover increase. The mean carbonate production of the shallow reefs of Abrolhos Bank was greater than the estimated carbonate production measured for artificial structures on several other shallow reefs of the world. The calcimass was higher than the non-calcareous mass, suggesting that the Abrolhos reefs are still in a positive carbonate production balance. Given that marine heat waves produce an increase of turf cover on the shallow reefs of the Abrolhos, a decrease in the cover represented by reef builders and shifting carbonate production are expected in the near future.</p></div

Mean light intensity measured during the day on the shallow reefs between March of 2013 and February 2014.

<p>Mean light intensity measured during the day on the shallow reefs between March of 2013 and February 2014.</p

Mean light intensity measured during the day on the shallow reefs between March of 2013 and February 2014.

<p>Mean light intensity measured during the day on the shallow reefs between March of 2013 and February 2014.</p

Map of Abrolhos Bank, eastern Brazil, showing study sites and marine protected areas.

<p>1) Pedra de Leste, 2) Abrolhos Archipelago, 3) Parcel dos Abrolhos. Abrolhos Marine National Park is represented by polygons.</p

Abundance of reef-builder and non-builder organisms on shallow reefs (P. Leste, Archipelago and P. Abrolhos) after one year of colonization.

<p>Different letters above bars are used to indicate statistically differences (p< 0.05) of cover of organisms obtained through pair-wise tested after the PERMANOVA analysis.</p

Daily mean sea-surface temperatures during December and January in Abrolhos Archipelago.

<p>A) 2012–2013, B) 2013–2014. Solid lines represent the mean summer temperature in both years.</p

Cover (%) of main organisms at the sites (PL, AA and PA) after one year of colonization.

<p>A = Ascidians; B = Bryozoans; C = Crustose coralline algae; D = Fleshy algae; E = Turfs. Different letters above bars are used to indicate statistically differences (p< 0.05) of cover of organisms obtained through pair-wise tested after the PERMANOVA analysis.</p

Mean (± standard error) abundance (%) of colonizer organism groups for sites (PL, AA and PA), years (2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2012–2014) and periods of colonization (1 and 2 years) analyzed.

<p>Mean (± standard error) abundance (%) of colonizer organism groups for sites (PL, AA and PA), years (2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2012–2014) and periods of colonization (1 and 2 years) analyzed.</p

CAUs (Calcification Accretion Units) and HOBO sensors (light and temperature) in situ.

<p>A: CAU and HOBO sensors immediately after installation in the summer of 2013; B-D: CAUs in the summer of 2014 (after 1 year of colonization) at P. Leste, Abrolhos Archipelago and P. Abrolhos, respectively.</p