Emerged reef zonation of the Costa dos Corais Environmental Protection Area, northeast Brazil

ABSTRACT

The zoning reef environments allows us to evaluate possible anthropic impacts and to subsidize future management plans. This study aimed to survey the reef-flat's benthic species (with special emphasis on cnidarians) in the first line of reefs of the Costa dos Corais, as well as to calculate and compare their percentage cover. Continuous line transects were carried out in six beaches of the area, in three regions of the reef flat and with four replicates for each region. The results showed greatest cover of algae in all of the beaches except for Tamandaré, PE. Among the cnidarians, the zoanthids were predominant, but the scleractinian corals Siderastrea stellata and Favia gravida also occurred. Other organisms found were poriferans, the mollusk Brachidontes exustus and the echinoderm Echinometra lucunter. Bleaching was observed in the two species of corals found (in all of the beaches visited) and in the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum. Overall, the organisms recorded were characterized by their resistance to the unstable conditions of the reef-flat. Additionally, the cluster analyses showed that factors such as the nearness to bodies of water and human impact have substantial influence in the reef-flat's benthic cover composition, even more than the close distance between some areas.

KEYWORDS
Corals; transects; reef environments