de Kikuchi, Ruy Kenji Papa, Leão, Zelinda Margarida de Andrade Nery, de Oliveira, Marilia de Dirceu Machado, Soares, Marcelo de Oliveira ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4696-3166, De Araújo, Maria Elisabeth, Feitosa, João Lucas Leão, Feitosa, Caroline Vieira, Alencar, Carlos Eduardo Rocha Duarte and Freire, Fulvio Aurélio Morais (2023) Reefs of the Western Tropical South Atlantic Ocean: Distribution, Environmental Impacts and Trends on Environmental Suitability Due to Climate Changes. In: Tropical Marine Environments of Brazil. ; 1 . The Latin American Studies Book Series . Springer-Nature, Cham, pp. 111-140. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21329-8_5.

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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.

Document Type:	Book chapter
Programme Area:	PA2
Research affiliation:	Ecology > Reef Systems
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21329-8_5
ISSN:	2366-3421
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2023 13:59
Last Modified:	26 Mar 2024 13:31
URI:	http://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/5154

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