Open AccessReef fishes biodiversity and conservation at the largest Brazilian coastal Marine Protected Area (MPA Costa dos Corais)
Author(s) -
Pedro Henrique Cipresso Pereira,
Luís G. F. Côrtes,
Gislaine Vanessa de Lima,
Erandy Gomes,
Antônio V. F. Pontes,
Felipe Monteiro Gomes de Mattos,
Maria Elisabeth de Araújo,
Flávio Ferreira-Junior,
Cláudio Luís Santos Sampaio
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
neotropical ichthyology/neotropical ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.593
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1982-0224
pISSN - 1679-6225
DOI - 10.1590/1982-0224-2021-0071
Subject(s) - fishery , coral reef fish , coral reef , threatened species , reef , actinopterygii , endangered species , biology , species richness , marine protected area , carangidae , biodiversity , coastal fish , ecology , coral reef protection , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , habitat
Coral reefs harbor one of the largest fish biodiversity on earth; yet information on reef fishes is still absent for many regions. We analyzed reef fish richness, distribution, and conservation on the largest Brazilian multiple use coastal MPA; which cover a large extent of coral reefs at the SWA. A total of 325 fish species have been listed for MPA Costa dos Corais, including Chondrichthyes (28 species) and Actinopterygii (297). Fish species were represented by 81 families and the most representative families were Carangidae (23 species), Labridae (21) and Gobiidae (15). The MPA fish richness represented 44% of all recorded fish species of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWA) highlighting the large-scale importance of this MPA. A total of 40 species (12%) are registered at Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR). This study reinforces the importance of MPA Costa dos Corais on reef fish biodiversity and conservation and emphasize the urgent need of conservation strategies.