Macrofauna assemblages in a XVIIth century shipwreck: comparison with those on natural reefs and sandy bottoms

Coelho, Rui; Monteiro, Pedro; Abecasis, David; Blot, Jean Yves; Gonçalves, Jorge M. S.

Abstracts

The macrofauna assemblages of a XVIIth century shipwreck off southern Portugal were studied and compared with those of nearby natural reefs and sandy bottoms, by underwater visual census. A total of 11 173 specimens of 224 different fauna taxa and 12 phyla were recorded. Natural reefs had the highest density of specimens (35 122 / 1000 m²) followed by the shipwreck (21 392 / 1000 m²) and the sandy bottoms (3771 / 1000 m²). Three biodiversity indices were estimated (Margalef, Shannon-Wiener and Pielou), with the natural reefs showing the highest values. However, the shipwreck presented values relatively similar to those of the natural reefs for the Shannon-Wiener and Pielou indices. The three habitats were clearly distinguishable by multivariate statistical analysis, with the average dissimilarity between sand and shipwreck, and between sand and natural reefs being much higher than that between the shipwreck and the natural reefs. The shipwreck had higher abundances of some commercially important species, such as the pouting Trisopterus luscus, European conger Conger conger, and common spider crab Maja squinado, as well as some vulnerable and threatened species such as the pink seafan Eunicella verrucosa. The results presented emphasize the importance of this habitat on the southern Portuguese coast.

Artificial reefs; Biodiversity; Underwater visual survey; Multivariate analyses; NE Atlantic

As comunidades de macrofauna de um naufrágio do século XVII ocorrido ao largo da costa Sul de Portugal, foram estudadas e comparadas com recifes naturais e fundos de areia através de census visuais subaquáticos. Foram registados 11 173 espécimes pertencentes a 224 taxa faunísticos e 12 phyla. Os recifes naturais apresentaram a maior densidade de espécimes (35 122 / 1000 m²) seguidos do naufrágio (21 392 / 1000 m²) e dos fundos de areia (3771 / 1000 m²). Foram calculados três índices de biodiversidade (Margalef, Shannon-Wiener e Pielou), com os recifes naturais que apresentarem os valores mais elevados. No entanto, o naufrágio mostrou valores relativamente semelhantes aos fundos rochosos nos índices de Shannon-Wiener e Pielou. Os três habitats foram separados por estatística multivariada, com a dissimilaridade média entre areia e naufrágio, e entre areia e recifes naturais sendo muito superior à dissimilaridade entre os recifes naturais e o naufrágio. O naufrágio apresentou elevada abundância de algumas espécies comercialmente importantes, como a faneca Trisopterus luscus, o safio Conger conger e a santola Maja squinado, assim como de espécies vulneráveis e ameaçadas como a gorgonia rosa Eunicella verrucosa. Os resultados apresentados realçam a importância desse habitat para a costa Sul de Portugal.

Recifes artificiais; Biodiversidade; Monitorização visual subaquática; Análise multivariada; Nordeste Atlântico

ARENA, P. T.; JORDAN, L. K. B.; SPIELER, R. E. Fish assemblages on sunken vessels and natural reefs in southeast Florida, USA. Hydrobiologia, v. 580, p. 157-171, 2007.
ASELTINE-NEILSON, D. A.; BERNSTEIN, B. B.; PALMER-ZWAHLEN, M. L.; RIEGE, L. E.; SMITH, R. W. Comparisons of turf communities from Pendleton Artificial Reef, Torrey Pines Artificial Reef, and a natural reef using multivariate techniques. Bull. Mar. Sci, v. 65, p. 37-57, 1999.
BADALAMENTI, F.; CHERMELLO, R.; D'ANNA, G.; RAMOS, P.H.; RIGGIO, S. Are artificial reefs comparable to neighbouring natural rocky areas? A mollusc case study in the Gulf of Castellammare (NW Sicily). ICES J. Mar. Sci, v. 59, p. 127-131, 2002.
BAINE, M. Artificial reefs: a review of their design, application, management and performance. Ocean. Coast. Manag, v. 44, p. 241-259, 2001.
BAINE, M.; SIDE, J. Habitat modification and manipulation as a management tool. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish, v. 13, p. 187-199, 2003.
BLOT, J-Y. Underwater archaeology: exploring the world beneath the sea. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.
BLOT, J-Y. New courses in maritime archaeology in Portugal. In: RUPPE, C.; BARSTAD, J. (Ed.). International handbook of underwater archaeology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2002.
BLOT, J-Y.; FRAGA, T.; CALEJA, P.; BISPO, J.; SILVA, J.A.; GALVÃO, M.; WORTHINGTON, A.; MARTINS, R.; SASAKI, R.; GONÇALVES, J.; COELHO, R.; MONTEIRO, P.; GONÇALVES, P.; TISSOT, I.; TISSOT, M. Faro A, um sítio de naufrágio ao largo do Algarve. XELB -Rev. Arqueol. Arte Etnol. Hist., v. 5, p. 283-302, 2005.
CLARK, S.; EDWARDS, A. J. An evaluation of artificial reef structures as tools for marine habitat rehabilitation in the Maldives. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst, v. 9, p. 5-21, 1999.
CLARKE, K. R.; GORLEY, R. N. PRIMER v6: User manual/tutorial. Plymouth: PRIMER-E, 2006.
CLARKE, K. R.; WARKICK, R. M. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth: PRIMER-E, 2001
CUMMINGS, S. L. Colonization of a nearshore artificial reef at Boca Raton (Palm Beach County) Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci, v. 55, p. 1193-1215, 1994.
DGPA. Recursos da Pesca 2006. v. 20 A-B. Lisboa: DGPA, 2007.
FERRARI, B.; ADAMS, J. Biogenic modifications of marine sediments and their influence on archaeological material. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol, v. 19, p. 139-151, 1990.
GONÇALVES, J. M. S.; MONTEIRO, P.; COELHO, R.; AFONSO, C.; RIBEIRO, J.; ALMEIDA, C.; VEIGA., P.; MACHADO, D.; BERECIBAR, E.; OLIVEIRA, F.; BENTES, L. Mapeamento das biocenoses marinhas da reserva ecológica nacional submarina entre Albufeira e Vale do Lobo. Faro: Universidade do Algarve, 2004. (Final Project Report).
GREGORY, D. Experiments into the deterioration characteristics of materials on the Duart Point wreck site: an interim report. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol., v. 24, p. 61-65, 1995.
GUNTHRIE, J.; BLACKALL, L.; MORIARTY, D.; GESNER, P. Wrecks and marine microbiology: a case study from the Pandora. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol., v. 18, p. 19-24, 1994.
MAGURRAN, A. E. Ecological diversity and its measurement Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1988.
OXLEY, I. Factors affecting the preservation of underwater archaeological sites. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol., v. 19, p. 340-341, 1990.
PERKOL-FINKEL S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Community structure of stony and soft corals on vertical unplanned artificial reefs in Eilat (Red Sea): comparison to natural reefs. Coral Reefs, v. 23, p. 195-205, 2004.
PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Recruitment of benthic organisms onto a planned artificial reef: shifts in community structure one decade post-deployment. Mar. Environ. Res, v. 59, p. 79-99, 2005.
PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Differential recruitment of benthic communities on neighboring artificial and natural reefs. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol, v. 340, p. 25-39, 2007.
PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; SHASHAR, N.; BENAYAHU, Y. Can artificial reefs mimic natural reef communities? The roles of structural features and age. Mar. Environ. Res, v. 61, p. 121-135, 2006.
PICKERING, H.; WHITMARSH, D. Artificial reefs and fisheries exploitation: A review of the "attraction versus production" debate, the influence of design and its significance for policy. Fish. Res, v. 31, p. 39-59, 1997.
RANDELL, S. Marine growth on shipwrecks. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol, v. 22, p. 107-108, 1998.
RODGERS, B. A. The case for biologically induced corrosion at the Yorktown shipwreck archaeological site. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol, v. 18, p. 335-340, 1989.
SANTOS, M. N.; MONETIRO, C. C. A fourteen-year overview of the fish assemblages and yield of the two oldest Algarve artificial reefs (southern Portugal). Hydrobiologia, v. 580, p. 225-231, 2007.
SVANE, I.; PETERSEN, J. K. On the problems of epibioses, fouling and artificial reefs, a review. Mar. Ecol., v. 22, p. 169-188, 2001.
TEIXEIRA, S. B. Identificação e caracterização de arribas holocénicas submersas ao largo do litoral do Algarve (Portugal). Comum. Inst. Geol. Min, v. 84, p. C35-38, 1998.
TEIXEIRA, S. B.; PINTO, C. A. Submarine evidences of Holocene shoreline migration on Quarteira coast (Southern Algarve-Portugal). Littoral 2002: The Changing Coast. Porto: Eurocoast/EUCC, 2002.
THOMSON, L. The biodegradation of the wreck Day Dawn. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol, v. 21, p. 119-124, 1997.
WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE Eunicella verrucosa IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Accessed 17 Sep 2010.
ZINTZEN, V.; NORRO, A.; MASSIN, C.; MALLEFET, J. Spatial variability of epifaunal communities from artificial habitat: Shipwrecks in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf. Sci, v. 76, p. 327-344, 2008.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
18 Feb 2013
Date of issue
Dec 2012

History

Received
28 Sept 2011
Accepted
03 Dec 2012
Reviewed
02 Dec 2012

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

[1] ARENA, P. T.; JORDAN, L. K. B.; SPIELER, R. E. Fish assemblages on sunken vessels and natural reefs in southeast Florida, USA. Hydrobiologia, v. 580, p. 157-171, 2007.

[2] ASELTINE-NEILSON, D. A.; BERNSTEIN, B. B.; PALMER-ZWAHLEN, M. L.; RIEGE, L. E.; SMITH, R. W. Comparisons of turf communities from Pendleton Artificial Reef, Torrey Pines Artificial Reef, and a natural reef using multivariate techniques. Bull. Mar. Sci, v. 65, p. 37-57, 1999.

[3] BADALAMENTI, F.; CHERMELLO, R.; D'ANNA, G.; RAMOS, P.H.; RIGGIO, S. Are artificial reefs comparable to neighbouring natural rocky areas? A mollusc case study in the Gulf of Castellammare (NW Sicily). ICES J. Mar. Sci, v. 59, p. 127-131, 2002.

[4] BAINE, M. Artificial reefs: a review of their design, application, management and performance. Ocean. Coast. Manag, v. 44, p. 241-259, 2001.

[5] BAINE, M.; SIDE, J. Habitat modification and manipulation as a management tool. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish, v. 13, p. 187-199, 2003.

[6] BLOT, J-Y. Underwater archaeology: exploring the world beneath the sea. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996.

[7] BLOT, J-Y. New courses in maritime archaeology in Portugal. In: RUPPE, C.; BARSTAD, J. (Ed.). International handbook of underwater archaeology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2002.

[8] BLOT, J-Y.; FRAGA, T.; CALEJA, P.; BISPO, J.; SILVA, J.A.; GALVÃO, M.; WORTHINGTON, A.; MARTINS, R.; SASAKI, R.; GONÇALVES, J.; COELHO, R.; MONTEIRO, P.; GONÇALVES, P.; TISSOT, I.; TISSOT, M. Faro A, um sítio de naufrágio ao largo do Algarve. XELB -Rev. Arqueol. Arte Etnol. Hist., v. 5, p. 283-302, 2005.

[9] CLARK, S.; EDWARDS, A. J. An evaluation of artificial reef structures as tools for marine habitat rehabilitation in the Maldives. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst, v. 9, p. 5-21, 1999.

[10] CLARKE, K. R.; GORLEY, R. N. PRIMER v6: User manual/tutorial. Plymouth: PRIMER-E, 2006.

[11] CLARKE, K. R.; WARKICK, R. M. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth: PRIMER-E, 2001

[12] CUMMINGS, S. L. Colonization of a nearshore artificial reef at Boca Raton (Palm Beach County) Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci, v. 55, p. 1193-1215, 1994.

[13] DGPA. Recursos da Pesca 2006. v. 20 A-B. Lisboa: DGPA, 2007.

[14] FERRARI, B.; ADAMS, J. Biogenic modifications of marine sediments and their influence on archaeological material. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol, v. 19, p. 139-151, 1990.

[15] GONÇALVES, J. M. S.; MONTEIRO, P.; COELHO, R.; AFONSO, C.; RIBEIRO, J.; ALMEIDA, C.; VEIGA., P.; MACHADO, D.; BERECIBAR, E.; OLIVEIRA, F.; BENTES, L. Mapeamento das biocenoses marinhas da reserva ecológica nacional submarina entre Albufeira e Vale do Lobo. Faro: Universidade do Algarve, 2004. (Final Project Report).

[16] GREGORY, D. Experiments into the deterioration characteristics of materials on the Duart Point wreck site: an interim report. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol., v. 24, p. 61-65, 1995.

[17] GUNTHRIE, J.; BLACKALL, L.; MORIARTY, D.; GESNER, P. Wrecks and marine microbiology: a case study from the Pandora. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol., v. 18, p. 19-24, 1994.

[18] MAGURRAN, A. E. Ecological diversity and its measurement Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1988.

[19] OXLEY, I. Factors affecting the preservation of underwater archaeological sites. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol., v. 19, p. 340-341, 1990.

[20] PERKOL-FINKEL S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Community structure of stony and soft corals on vertical unplanned artificial reefs in Eilat (Red Sea): comparison to natural reefs. Coral Reefs, v. 23, p. 195-205, 2004.

[21] PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Recruitment of benthic organisms onto a planned artificial reef: shifts in community structure one decade post-deployment. Mar. Environ. Res, v. 59, p. 79-99, 2005.

[22] PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; BENAYAHU, Y. Differential recruitment of benthic communities on neighboring artificial and natural reefs. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol, v. 340, p. 25-39, 2007.

[23] PERKOL-FINKEL, S.; SHASHAR, N.; BENAYAHU, Y. Can artificial reefs mimic natural reef communities? The roles of structural features and age. Mar. Environ. Res, v. 61, p. 121-135, 2006.

[24] PICKERING, H.; WHITMARSH, D. Artificial reefs and fisheries exploitation: A review of the "attraction versus production" debate, the influence of design and its significance for policy. Fish. Res, v. 31, p. 39-59, 1997.

[25] RANDELL, S. Marine growth on shipwrecks. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol, v. 22, p. 107-108, 1998.

[26] RODGERS, B. A. The case for biologically induced corrosion at the Yorktown shipwreck archaeological site. Int. J. Naut. Archaeol, v. 18, p. 335-340, 1989.

[27] SANTOS, M. N.; MONETIRO, C. C. A fourteen-year overview of the fish assemblages and yield of the two oldest Algarve artificial reefs (southern Portugal). Hydrobiologia, v. 580, p. 225-231, 2007.

[28] SVANE, I.; PETERSEN, J. K. On the problems of epibioses, fouling and artificial reefs, a review. Mar. Ecol., v. 22, p. 169-188, 2001.

[29] TEIXEIRA, S. B. Identificação e caracterização de arribas holocénicas submersas ao largo do litoral do Algarve (Portugal). Comum. Inst. Geol. Min, v. 84, p. C35-38, 1998.

[30] TEIXEIRA, S. B.; PINTO, C. A. Submarine evidences of Holocene shoreline migration on Quarteira coast (Southern Algarve-Portugal). Littoral 2002: The Changing Coast. Porto: Eurocoast/EUCC, 2002.

[31] THOMSON, L. The biodegradation of the wreck Day Dawn. Bull. Aust. Inst. Mar. Archaeol, v. 21, p. 119-124, 1997.

[32] WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE Eunicella verrucosa IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Accessed 17 Sep 2010.

[33] ZINTZEN, V.; NORRO, A.; MASSIN, C.; MALLEFET, J. Spatial variability of epifaunal communities from artificial habitat: Shipwrecks in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf. Sci, v. 76, p. 327-344, 2008.

Brasil

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Macrofauna assemblages in a XVIIth century shipwreck: comparison with those on natural reefs and sandy bottoms

Abstracts

Publication Dates

History