Beatrice Padovani Ferreira

Marine Protected Dramas: The Flaws of the Brazilian National System of Marine Protected Areas

This article discusses the current problems and issues associated with the implementation of a National System of Marine Protected Areas in Brazil. MPA managers and higher governmental level authorities were interviewed about their perceptions of the implementation of a national MPA strategy and the recent changes in the institutional arrangement of government marine conservation agencies. Interviewees’ narratives were generally pessimistic and the National System was perceived as weak, with few recognizable marine conservation outcomes on the ground. The following major flaws were identified: poor inter-institutional coordination of coastal and ocean governance; institutional crisis faced by the national government marine conservation agency; poor management within individual MPAs; problems with regional networks of marine protected areas; an overly bureaucratic management and administrative system; financial shortages creating structural problems and a disconnect between MPA policy and its delivery. Furthermore, a lack of professional motivation and a pessimistic atmosphere was encountered during many interviews, a malaise which we believe affects how the entire system is able to respond to crises. Our findings highlight the need for a better understanding of the role of ‘leadership’ in the performance of socio-ecological systems (such as MPA networks), more effective official evaluation mechanisms, more localized audits of (and reforms if necessary to) Brazil’s federal biodiversity conservation agency (ICMBio), and the need for political measures to promote state leadership and support. Continuing to focus on the designation of more MPAs whilst not fully addressing these issues will achieve little beyond fulfilling, on paper, Brazil’s international marine biodiversity commitments.

Fish Biodiversity of the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain, Southwestern Atlantic: An Updated Database

Despite a strong increase in research on seamounts and oceanic islands ecology and biogeography, many basic aspects of their biodiversity are still unknown. In the southwestern Atlantic, the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain (VTC) extends ca. 1,200 km offshore the Brazilian continental shelf, from the Vitória seamount to the oceanic islands of Trindade and Martin Vaz. For a long time, most of the biological information available regarded its islands. Our study presents and analyzes an extensive database on the VTC fish biodiversity, built on data compiled from literature and recent scientific expeditions that assessed both shallow to mesophotic environments. A total of 273 species were recorded, 211 of which occur on seamounts and 173 at the islands. New records for seamounts or islands include 191 reef fish species and 64 depth range extensions. The structure of fish assemblages was similar between islands and seamounts, not differing in species geographic distribution, trophic composition, or spawning strategies. Main differences were related to endemism, higher at the islands, and to the number of endangered species, higher at the seamounts. Since unregulated fishing activities are common in the region, and mining activities are expected to drastically increase in the near future (carbonates on seamount summits and metals on slopes), this unique biodiversity needs urgent attention and management.

Bathymetric trends of northeastern Brazilian snappers (Pisces, Lutjanidae): implications for the reef fishery dynamic

A distribuicao batimetrica de cinco especies de peixes do Nordeste Brasileiro foi examinada atraves da analise da composicao da captura e e abundância relativa (CPUE) mostrou que, de uma maneira geral, o comprimento furcal aumentou com a profundidade e que algumas especies dominaram a captura de acordo com a faixa de profundidade. A cioba, L. analis, a guaiuba, L. chrysurus, e o dentao, L. jocu foram principalmente pescados na zona intermediaria (20-80 m) enquanto arioco, L. synagris e o pargo olho-de-vidro L. vivanus ocorreram respectivamente nas aguas rasas e nas aguas profundas. Cada tipo de embarcacao do Nordeste do Brasil explota preferencialmente uma combinacao particular de especies e uma determinada amplitude de tamanho. A dinâmica da frota do nordeste do Brasil e tecnologicamente heterogenea e determina a composicao da captura. A distribuicao geografica da pesca e a interacao tecnica entre as frotas e as artes de pesca devem ser consideradas pelo manejo destas especies visando a manutencao dos estoques em bases sustentaveis e a garantia de continuidade do recurso.

Age Structure and Growth of the Dusky Damselfish, Stegastes Fuscus, From Tamandaré Reefs, Pernambuco, Brazil

Age structure and growth of Stegastes fuscus were investigated during the present study. Individuals were collected monthly by divers using nets and spears in the reefs off Tamandaré, Pernambuco, Brazil. Otoliths were removed from 346 individuals and sectioned transversally to determine individual age. Otolith sections showed a clear pattern of opaque and translucent bands. Opaque bands were counted and initially attributed to the age of individual fish. To determine the periodicity of band formation, a validation experiment was performed, in which individuals (n = 8) were injected with tetracycline (50 mg kg-1) and kept in the laboratory for periods of three months to one year. Results of the validation experiment showed that one opaque band is deposited per year. The age of individuals collected from January to December 1995 ranged between 0 and 15 years. Analysis of margins of monthly collected individuals suggested that opaque bands are deposited during the dry season, between September and March. Readings of tetracycline-marked otoliths corroborated these results. The length-at-age curve yielded a growth constant (K) of 0.19 y-1. The high variability of the length-at-age data indicated high variability in individual growth. Length–frequency data were also used to obtain growth parameters. The growth constant, as determined with these data was 0.6 y-1 and differed markedly from K values determined from length-at-age data. It was concluded that length-frequency data are not suitable to determine growth of this species. The present study showed that otoliths are a reliable structure for aging S. fuscus, which showed to be a relatively long-lived and slow-growing tropical reef species.

Community structure of the ichthyofauna associated with seagrass beds ( Halodule wrightii) in Formoso River estuary - Pernambuco, Brazil

Seagrass beds are used by juvenile fishes in different ways, generally as nursery sites, shelter from predators, reducing competition and increasing availability of food resources, thus establishing a relationship of connectivity with other ecosystems. In the present study, the community structure of the ichthyofauna associated with seagrass beds on the Formoso River (Pernambuco - Brazil) was evaluated during the winter of 2008. Twenty-seven manual trawls (15 daytime and 12 nighttime) were performed, and a total of 358 fishes belonging to 18 families, 21 genus and 25 species were collected. The Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) by trawling average was 13.5 and 4.95 individuals per species per trawl. The most abundant families were Scaridae (n = 111), Tetraodontidae (n = 63), Lutjanidae (n = 56), Mullidae (n = 39) and Engraulidae (n = 19). Ecological indices for dial changes were always higher for the night period, confirming that such areas are used more frequently during this period. The need for measures to conserve these areas is emphasized, by its importance and vulnerability to human impacts.

Recreational fish feeding inside Brazilian MPAs: impacts on reef fish community structure

caroline vieira feitosa, lai’s de carvalho teixeira chaves, beatrice padovani ferreira and maria elisabeth de arau’ jo Universidade Federal Rural do Semiarido, Avenida Francisco Mota, 572, Costa e Silva, 59 625–900, Mossoro, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Departamento de Oceanografia, Avenida Arquitetura S/N, Cidade Universitaria, 50 670–901, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil

Sexual development and reproductive pattern of the Mutton hamlet, Alphestes afer (Teleostei: Epinephelidae): a dyandric, hermaphroditic reef fish

There is little knowledge on the reproduction of the genus Alphestes. The reproduction of the Mutton hamlet, Alphestes afer, sampled in Pernambuco reefs (Brazil) was studied based on macroscopic analysis during reproductive period and histological analysis of gonad material from March 2008 to October 2009. This study showed that A. afer is a diandric, protogynous hermaphrodite. Sex change followed protogynous mode in two pathways: primary males formed from immature female individuals or secondary males formed from resting, ripe or spent female individuals. The numerical distribution of gonad classes by size indicated that females from 11-18 cm LT were immature while females from 16-25 cm LT and males from 12-22 cm LT were in various stages of gonadal development. Individuals identified as immature bisexual and transitional (presenting both ovarian and sperm tissue) were sized from 16-24 cm LT. Size of first reproduction for females was 18 cm LT and for males was 12 cm LT. Alphestes afer showed multiple spawning, with spawning season period from August to December 2008 and from August to October 2009. The sex-ratio (females: males) in 2008 and 2009 was 0.94:1 during the months of spawning season. Males were smaller than females, reaching maximum size of 22 cm compared to 25 cm observed for females. Males showed a high sperm competition rank (3.8), suggesting intense sperm competition. This latter is a possible indication of a shift in the mating group structure from paired to group spawning. The presence of small males added to high sperm competition index, suggest that this species, while retaining the protogynous pattern, has a reproductive strategy similar to gonochorist epinephelids.

Gestão compartilhada do uso de recursos pesqueiros no Brasil: elementos para um programa nacional

This paper is an output of a workshop carried out in 2006, in Tamandare, PE, aiming to discuss elements for the construction of a national program of fisheries co-management in Brazil. This program should be constituted by many participatory action-research projects with the potential to contribute for the incorporation of the co-management concept in public policies. The workshop involved 30 researchers who identified: (i) opportunities/driving factors and (ii) limitations/problems faced for fisheries co-management in Brazil, and (iii) research lines and actions needed to subsidize the construction of such program.

A rapid new method for assessing sustainability of ornamental fish by-catch from coral reefs

The ornamental fish trade has considerable potential for damaging reef environments. Nearly 120 species are currently harvested in the Brazilian trade and little attention has been paid to the effects of the accidental catch of these species. Records of ornamental fish by-catch and the susceptibility and resilience of species from the major Brazilian families in the aquarium trade were examined to test a method and determine the sustainability of these catches. Each species was assessed based on two groups of criteria: (1) relative vulnerability to capture; and (2) population resilience to mortality due to fishing efforts. Each species was also ranked (1-3) for criteria regarding ecology, biology, catchability, numbers of individuals exported by aquarium companies and mortality index. These criteria were then weighted and each species rank in the two groups of criteria was plotted. Nineteen species from 10 families were recorded. The species least likely to have sustainable catch rates included Holacanthus tricolor, H. ciliaris, Chaetodon striatus and Pomacanthus paru. This approach is a useful alternative for management efforts and the assessment of catch sustainability in newly developed multi-species fisheries with limited available data, which occur in areas of high species richness such as reefs.

Reef fishes foraging facilitation behavior: increasing the access to a food resource

Fishes associated in schools acquire adaptive advantages by grouping together, e.g., access to a larger variety of food resources, foraging sites, and protection against potential predators. This work presents the first record of a feeding association between the bucktooth parrotfish, Sparisoma radians and the sailor’s grunt Haemulon parra, on Tamandaré reefs, Southwestern Atlantic. Through this association, S. radians gained access to otherwise unavailable food resources to be found inside territorial damselfish domain, thus characterizing an event of foraging facilitation.