Comparison of rocky itertidal community sampling methods at northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Macedo, Isabela Maria; Masi, Bruno Pereira; Zalmon, Ilana Rosental

Abstracts

The purpose of this study is to compare different rocky intertidal sampling methods at the northern coast of the Rio de Janeiro State. Quadrats with 50 and 100 intersection points were sampled in field and in computer using digital photos. A similarity over 90% was obtained between both methods for the intertidal zone. Cluster analysis showed that the lower sample size overestimated some indicator organisms. The zonation pattern through photo sampling was different from that in field especially in Supralitoral Fringe due to the color similarity of Chthamalus sp with bare substrate. The main advantages of the digital method are the fast abundance estimation, the possibility of comparison among researchers and the permanent community record. However, there is a potential for species misidentification with similar color morphotypes. In zonation intertidal studies, digital photograph sampling method is suggested since it is rather efficient, accurate and advantageous in relation to the field method. Such a choice might be made after the previous knowledge of local organisms and should be adequate to the final objectives.

rocky intertidal; sampling techniques; digital photography; field method

A proposta do presente estudo é comparar diferentes métodos de amostragem da comunidade bêntica no entremarés em substrato rochoso na costa norte do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Quadrados com 50 e 100 pontos de interseção foram amostrados no local e em computador por fotografia digital Uma similaridade superior a 90% foi obtida entre ambos os métodos em cada altura do substrato. A análise de agrupamento evidenciou que o menor tamanho amostral superestimou alguns organismos indicadores. O padrão de zonação através da amostragem por foto foi diferente daquele no campo principalmente na Franja do Supralitoral face à similaridade de coloração de Chthamalus sp com o substrato vazio. O método por foto tem como principais vantagens a rápida estimativa de abundância, a possibilidade de comparação entre observadores e o registro permanente da comunidade. Contudo, há a possibilidade de má identificação de morfotipos de cores semelhantes e não permite a amostragem de vários estratos. Para estudos de zonação a amostragem por fotografia digital é bastante eficiente, acurada e vantajosa em relação ao método em campo. Mas, tal opção procede após o conhecimento prévio dos organismos e deve ser adequada aos objetivos finais.

costão rochoso; região entremarés; técnicas de amostragem; fotografia digital; método em campo

Andrew, N. L. & Mapstone, B. D. 1987. Sampling and description of spatial pattern in marine ecology. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. a. Rev.,25:39-90.
Benedetti-Cecchi, L. & Cinelli, F. 1993. Early patterns of algal succession in a midlittoral community of the Mediterranean Sea: a multifactorial experiment. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol.,169:15-31.
Benedet-Cecchi, L. & Cinelli, F. 1996. Analysis of a spatial and temporal variability in intersections among algae, limpets and mussels in low shore habitats on the west coast of Italy. J. mar. biol. Ecol., 144:87-96.
Boaventura, D.; Fonseca, L. C. & Hawkins, S. J. 2002. Intertidal Rocky Shore Comunities of the Continental Portuguese Coast: Analysis of Distribution Patterns. Mar. Ecol., 23 (1):69-90.
Branch, G. M. 1976. Interspecific competition experience by South African. Patella species. J. anim. Ecol.,45:507 - 529.
Brum, I. N. S. & Absalão, R. S. 1990. Vertical distribuition of barnacles of the intertidal rocky shores of Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brazil. In: Neves, C. Magoon, O. eds. Coastlines of Brazil. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. p. 139-153.
Connell, J. H. 1961. The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribuition of the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus Ecology, 42:710-723.
Coutinho, R. 2002. Bentos de costões rochosos. In: Pereira, R. C. & Soares-Gomes, A. eds. Biologia marinha. Rio de Janeiro: Interciência, p. 147-157.
Dayton, P. K. 1971. Competition, disturbance and community organization: the provision and subsequent utilization of space in a rocky intertidal community. Ecol. Monogr.,41:351-389.
Dethier, M. N.; Graham, E. S.; Cohen, S. & Tear, L. M. 1993. Visual versus random-point percent cover estimations: "objective" is not always better. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.,96:93-100.
Diamond, J. M. 1986. Overview: laboratory experiments, field experiments, and natural experiments. In: Diamond, J.M., Case, T. J. eds. Community ecology. New York, Harper & Row. p. 3-22.
Foster, M. S.; Harrold, C. & Hardin, D. D. 1991. Point versus photo quadrat estimates of the cover of sessile marine organisms. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 146:193-203.
Gevertz, R. 1995. Em busca do conhecimento ecológico:uma introdução à metodologia. São Paulo. Edgard Blucher. p. 65-66.
Good, T. P. 2004. Distribution and abundance patterns in caribbean rocky intertidal zones. Bull. mar. Sci., 74:459-468.
Green, R. H. 1979. Sampling design and statistical methods for environmental biologists. New York, John Wiley & Sons.257p.
Guimaraens, M. A. & Coutinho, R. 2000. Temporal and spatial variation of Ulva sp and water properties in the Cabo Frio upwelling region of Brazil. Acquat. Bot.,66:101-114.
Jenkins, S. R.; Hawkins, S. J. & Norton, T. A. 1999a. Direct and indirect effects of a macroalgal canopy and limpet grazing in structuring a sheltered intertidal community. Mar. Ecol. -Prog. Ser., 188:81-92.
Jenkins, S. R.; Hawkins, S. J. & Norton, T. A. 1999b. Settlement and post-settlement interection between Semibalanus balanoides and three species of fucoide canopy algae. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 236 (1):49-67.
Krebs, C. J. 1989. Ecological methodology. New York, Harper & Row. 654p.
Lewis, J. R. 1964. Ecology of rocky shores.London: English Universities Press. 323p.
Little, C. & Kitching, J. A. 1996. The biology of rocky shores. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 240p.
Loehle, C. 1987. Hypothesis testing in ecology: psycologycal aspects and importance of theory maturation. Q. Rev. Biol., 62:397-409.
McIntosh, R. P. 1987. Pluralism in ecology. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst, 18:321-341.
Meese, R. J. & Tomich, P. A. 1992. Dots on the rocks: a comparison of percent cover estimation methods. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 165 (1):59-73.
Menge, B. A. 1991. Relative importance of recruitment and other causes of variation in rocky intertidal community structure. J. expl Biol. Ecol., 146:69-100.
Miller, A. W. & Ambrose, R. F. 2000. Sampling patchy distribuiion: comparison of sampling design in rocky intertidal habitats. Mar. Ecol.- Prog. Ser., 196:1-14.
Paine, R. T. 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. Am. Nat., 100:65-75.
Paine, R. T. 1974. Intertidal community structure: experimental studies on the relationship between a dominant competitor and its - principal predator. Oecologia (Berl.), 15:93-120.
Paula, E. J. 1987. Zonação nos costões rochosos: região entremarés. In: SIMPÓSIO DE ECOSSISTEMAS DA COSTA SUL E SUDESTE BRASILEIRA. Anais. São Paulo, ACIESP, 1:266-268.
Pech, D.; Condal, A. R.; Bourget, E. & Ardisson, P. L. 2004. Abundance estimation of rocky shore Invertebrates at small spatial scale by high-resolution dital fotography and digital image analysis. J. expl. mar. Ecol., 299:185-189.
Peters, R. H. 1988. Some general problems for ecology illustrated by food web theory. Ecology, 69:1673-1676.
Raffaelli, D. & Hawkins, S. J. 1996. Intertidal ecology. London, Chapman & Hall. 356p.
Sabino, C. M. & Villaça, R. 1999. Estudo comparativo de métodos de amostragem de comunidades de costão. Re. Brasil. Biol., 59 (3):407-419.
Sauer Machado, K. R. S.; Chapman, A. R. O. & Coutinho, R. 1996. Consumer species have limited and variable roles in community organization on a tropical intertidal shore. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 134:73-83.
Schoener, A. & Greene, C. H. 1981. Comparison between destructive and nondestructive sampling of sessile epibentihic organisms. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26 (4):770-774.
Southwood, T. R. E. 1978. Ecological Methods. 2^nd ed. New York, Chapman and Hall. 524p.
Stephenson ,T. A. & Stephenson, A. 1949. The Universal feature of zonation between tide-marks on rocky coasts. J. Ecol., 37: 289-305.
Sutherland, J. P. 1974. Multiple stable points in natural communities. Am. Nat., 108 (964):859-873.
Thomas, M. L. H. 1985. Littoral community and zonation on the rocky shores of Bermuda. Bull. mar. Sci., 37:857-870.
Underwood, A. J. 1978. An experimental evaluation of competition between three species of intertidal prosobranch gastropods. Oecologia, 33:185-202.
Underwood, A. J. 1990. Experiments in ecology and management: their logics, functions, and interpretations. Aust. J. Ecol, 15:365-389.
Underwood, A. J. 1991. Beyond BACI: Experimental designs for detecting human environmental impacts on temporal variations in natural populations. Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res., 42:569-587.
Underwood, A. J. 1994. On beyond BACI: sampling designs that might reliably detect environmental disturbances. Ecol. Appl., 4:3-15.
Valentin, J. L. 2000. Ecologia numérica - uma análise multivariada de dados ecológicos. Interciência. 117p.
Vermeij, G. J. & Porter, J. W. 1971. Some characteristics of the dominant intertidal molluscs from rocky shores in Pernambuco, Brazil. Bull. mar. Sci., 21:440-454.
Villaça, R. C. 1991. Metodologia de amostragem em costões rochosos. Abordagem fitosociológica. In: SIMPÓSIO DE ECOSSISTEMAS DA COSTA SUL E SUDESTE BRASILEIRA. 2. Anais. São Paulo, ACIESP, 2:1-13.
Whorff , J. S. & Griffing, L. 1992. A video recording and analysis system used to sample intertidal communities. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 160:1-12.
Zar, J. H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. 2. ed. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice Hall. 718p.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
01 Nov 2007
Date of issue
Sept 2006

History

Received
16 Dec 2005
Reviewed
26 May 2006
Accepted
27 July 2006

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] Andrew, N. L. & Mapstone, B. D. 1987. Sampling and description of spatial pattern in marine ecology. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. a. Rev.,25:39-90.

[2] Benedetti-Cecchi, L. & Cinelli, F. 1993. Early patterns of algal succession in a midlittoral community of the Mediterranean Sea: a multifactorial experiment. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol.,169:15-31.

[3] Benedet-Cecchi, L. & Cinelli, F. 1996. Analysis of a spatial and temporal variability in intersections among algae, limpets and mussels in low shore habitats on the west coast of Italy. J. mar. biol. Ecol., 144:87-96.

[4] Boaventura, D.; Fonseca, L. C. & Hawkins, S. J. 2002. Intertidal Rocky Shore Comunities of the Continental Portuguese Coast: Analysis of Distribution Patterns. Mar. Ecol., 23 (1):69-90.

[5] Branch, G. M. 1976. Interspecific competition experience by South African. Patella species. J. anim. Ecol.,45:507 - 529.

[6] Brum, I. N. S. & Absalão, R. S. 1990. Vertical distribuition of barnacles of the intertidal rocky shores of Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brazil. In: Neves, C. Magoon, O. eds. Coastlines of Brazil. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. p. 139-153.

[7] Connell, J. H. 1961. The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribuition of the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus Ecology, 42:710-723.

[8] Coutinho, R. 2002. Bentos de costões rochosos. In: Pereira, R. C. & Soares-Gomes, A. eds. Biologia marinha. Rio de Janeiro: Interciência, p. 147-157.

[9] Dayton, P. K. 1971. Competition, disturbance and community organization: the provision and subsequent utilization of space in a rocky intertidal community. Ecol. Monogr.,41:351-389.

[10] Dethier, M. N.; Graham, E. S.; Cohen, S. & Tear, L. M. 1993. Visual versus random-point percent cover estimations: "objective" is not always better. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.,96:93-100.

[11] Diamond, J. M. 1986. Overview: laboratory experiments, field experiments, and natural experiments. In: Diamond, J.M., Case, T. J. eds. Community ecology. New York, Harper & Row. p. 3-22.

[12] Foster, M. S.; Harrold, C. & Hardin, D. D. 1991. Point versus photo quadrat estimates of the cover of sessile marine organisms. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 146:193-203.

[13] Gevertz, R. 1995. Em busca do conhecimento ecológico:uma introdução à metodologia. São Paulo. Edgard Blucher. p. 65-66.

[14] Good, T. P. 2004. Distribution and abundance patterns in caribbean rocky intertidal zones. Bull. mar. Sci., 74:459-468.

[15] Green, R. H. 1979. Sampling design and statistical methods for environmental biologists. New York, John Wiley & Sons.257p.

[16] Guimaraens, M. A. & Coutinho, R. 2000. Temporal and spatial variation of Ulva sp and water properties in the Cabo Frio upwelling region of Brazil. Acquat. Bot.,66:101-114.

[17] Jenkins, S. R.; Hawkins, S. J. & Norton, T. A. 1999a. Direct and indirect effects of a macroalgal canopy and limpet grazing in structuring a sheltered intertidal community. Mar. Ecol. -Prog. Ser., 188:81-92.

[18] Jenkins, S. R.; Hawkins, S. J. & Norton, T. A. 1999b. Settlement and post-settlement interection between Semibalanus balanoides and three species of fucoide canopy algae. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 236 (1):49-67.

[19] Krebs, C. J. 1989. Ecological methodology. New York, Harper & Row. 654p.

[20] Lewis, J. R. 1964. Ecology of rocky shores.London: English Universities Press. 323p.

[21] Little, C. & Kitching, J. A. 1996. The biology of rocky shores. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 240p.

[22] Loehle, C. 1987. Hypothesis testing in ecology: psycologycal aspects and importance of theory maturation. Q. Rev. Biol., 62:397-409.

[23] McIntosh, R. P. 1987. Pluralism in ecology. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst, 18:321-341.

[24] Meese, R. J. & Tomich, P. A. 1992. Dots on the rocks: a comparison of percent cover estimation methods. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 165 (1):59-73.

[25] Menge, B. A. 1991. Relative importance of recruitment and other causes of variation in rocky intertidal community structure. J. expl Biol. Ecol., 146:69-100.

[26] Miller, A. W. & Ambrose, R. F. 2000. Sampling patchy distribuiion: comparison of sampling design in rocky intertidal habitats. Mar. Ecol.- Prog. Ser., 196:1-14.

[27] Paine, R. T. 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. Am. Nat., 100:65-75.

[28] Paine, R. T. 1974. Intertidal community structure: experimental studies on the relationship between a dominant competitor and its - principal predator. Oecologia (Berl.), 15:93-120.

[29] Paula, E. J. 1987. Zonação nos costões rochosos: região entremarés. In: SIMPÓSIO DE ECOSSISTEMAS DA COSTA SUL E SUDESTE BRASILEIRA. Anais. São Paulo, ACIESP, 1:266-268.

[30] Pech, D.; Condal, A. R.; Bourget, E. & Ardisson, P. L. 2004. Abundance estimation of rocky shore Invertebrates at small spatial scale by high-resolution dital fotography and digital image analysis. J. expl. mar. Ecol., 299:185-189.

[31] Peters, R. H. 1988. Some general problems for ecology illustrated by food web theory. Ecology, 69:1673-1676.

[32] Raffaelli, D. & Hawkins, S. J. 1996. Intertidal ecology. London, Chapman & Hall. 356p.

[33] Sabino, C. M. & Villaça, R. 1999. Estudo comparativo de métodos de amostragem de comunidades de costão. Re. Brasil. Biol., 59 (3):407-419.

[34] Sauer Machado, K. R. S.; Chapman, A. R. O. & Coutinho, R. 1996. Consumer species have limited and variable roles in community organization on a tropical intertidal shore. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 134:73-83.

[35] Schoener, A. & Greene, C. H. 1981. Comparison between destructive and nondestructive sampling of sessile epibentihic organisms. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26 (4):770-774.

[36] Southwood, T. R. E. 1978. Ecological Methods. 2^nd ed. New York, Chapman and Hall. 524p.

[37] Stephenson ,T. A. & Stephenson, A. 1949. The Universal feature of zonation between tide-marks on rocky coasts. J. Ecol., 37: 289-305.

[38] Sutherland, J. P. 1974. Multiple stable points in natural communities. Am. Nat., 108 (964):859-873.

[39] Thomas, M. L. H. 1985. Littoral community and zonation on the rocky shores of Bermuda. Bull. mar. Sci., 37:857-870.

[40] Underwood, A. J. 1978. An experimental evaluation of competition between three species of intertidal prosobranch gastropods. Oecologia, 33:185-202.

[41] Underwood, A. J. 1990. Experiments in ecology and management: their logics, functions, and interpretations. Aust. J. Ecol, 15:365-389.

[42] Underwood, A. J. 1991. Beyond BACI: Experimental designs for detecting human environmental impacts on temporal variations in natural populations. Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res., 42:569-587.

[43] Underwood, A. J. 1994. On beyond BACI: sampling designs that might reliably detect environmental disturbances. Ecol. Appl., 4:3-15.

[44] Valentin, J. L. 2000. Ecologia numérica - uma análise multivariada de dados ecológicos. Interciência. 117p.

[45] Vermeij, G. J. & Porter, J. W. 1971. Some characteristics of the dominant intertidal molluscs from rocky shores in Pernambuco, Brazil. Bull. mar. Sci., 21:440-454.

[46] Villaça, R. C. 1991. Metodologia de amostragem em costões rochosos. Abordagem fitosociológica. In: SIMPÓSIO DE ECOSSISTEMAS DA COSTA SUL E SUDESTE BRASILEIRA. 2. Anais. São Paulo, ACIESP, 2:1-13.

[47] Whorff , J. S. & Griffing, L. 1992. A video recording and analysis system used to sample intertidal communities. J. expl mar. Biol. Ecol., 160:1-12.

[48] Zar, J. H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. 2. ed. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice Hall. 718p.

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Comparison of rocky itertidal community sampling methods at northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Abstracts

Publication Dates

History