Books by Sergio R . Floeter
The Long-Term Monitoring Program of Brazilian Oceanic Islands (PELD-ILOC), whose main goal is mon... more The Long-Term Monitoring Program of Brazilian Oceanic Islands (PELD-ILOC), whose main goal is monitoring various components of the reef environments in the Brazilian oceanic island, started its activities in 2013. During the last five years, researchers have been gathering
data on reef fish assemblages, benthic communities, coral health and its associated zooxanthellae. In this chapter, we present an overview of the activities developed by the PELD - ILOC in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), with special attention to The composition of fish assemblages, structure of benthic community, and demography of the
intertidal crab Grapsus grapsus. The density of fishes varied little throughout the sampled period with a slight decrease by 2015 and an apparent stability until 2017. Fish biomass was more constant throughout the years, with high contribution of the omnivore Melichthys
niger and different species of moray eels. Turf and encrusting calcareous algae, and the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum presented the higher benthic cover, with varying contribution depending on year and depth strata. For instance, shallow reefs (3-10 m deep) were mainly covered by turf algae and P. caribaeorum, while encrusting calcareous
algae and other invertebrates were more importante on deep reefs (12-18 m deep). The density of G. grapsus showed a decrease throughout the time. Although neither the sizes of males nor females has varied through time, the average size of ovigerous female has been decreasing. This fact has important consequences for fecundity rates and larvae
production. Mutilation was relatively common in crabs, being observed in up to 49% of the sampled individuals, and is driven by the harsh local environment. Reefs in the SPSPA are spatially limited and characterized by a depauperate biota in comparison to coastal areas. Nevertheless, a high proportion of endemic species and a high fish biomass can be observed in the region, reinforcing the importance of this unique system. The low species richness observed in SPSPA is reflected in a low functional redundancy and consequently high vulnerability to diferent anthropogenic and natural impacts. Long-term monitoring is an essential tool to understand the temporal dynamics of these fragile isolated reef communities, and an importante strategy to manage and conserve this archipelago.
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Books by Sergio R . Floeter
data on reef fish assemblages, benthic communities, coral health and its associated zooxanthellae. In this chapter, we present an overview of the activities developed by the PELD - ILOC in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), with special attention to The composition of fish assemblages, structure of benthic community, and demography of the
intertidal crab Grapsus grapsus. The density of fishes varied little throughout the sampled period with a slight decrease by 2015 and an apparent stability until 2017. Fish biomass was more constant throughout the years, with high contribution of the omnivore Melichthys
niger and different species of moray eels. Turf and encrusting calcareous algae, and the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum presented the higher benthic cover, with varying contribution depending on year and depth strata. For instance, shallow reefs (3-10 m deep) were mainly covered by turf algae and P. caribaeorum, while encrusting calcareous
algae and other invertebrates were more importante on deep reefs (12-18 m deep). The density of G. grapsus showed a decrease throughout the time. Although neither the sizes of males nor females has varied through time, the average size of ovigerous female has been decreasing. This fact has important consequences for fecundity rates and larvae
production. Mutilation was relatively common in crabs, being observed in up to 49% of the sampled individuals, and is driven by the harsh local environment. Reefs in the SPSPA are spatially limited and characterized by a depauperate biota in comparison to coastal areas. Nevertheless, a high proportion of endemic species and a high fish biomass can be observed in the region, reinforcing the importance of this unique system. The low species richness observed in SPSPA is reflected in a low functional redundancy and consequently high vulnerability to diferent anthropogenic and natural impacts. Long-term monitoring is an essential tool to understand the temporal dynamics of these fragile isolated reef communities, and an importante strategy to manage and conserve this archipelago.