A highly diverse phytobenthic community along a short coastal reef gradient in northeastern Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to inventory the species of marine macroalgae and analyze the distribution and biomass patterns of their communities along a short coastal reef gradient in northeastern Brazil. Samples were collected using the technique of random squares, distributed in the three habitats: reef front region (FR), tide pools (TP), and reef plateau (RP). These three make up the reef gradient from the sea to the beach. A total of 56 taxa were identified, with Ochrophyta and Rhodophyta standing out as the phyla with the greater taxonomic richness, and the largest biomass represented by the species Sargassum vulgare (30 % of total biomass) and (16 %). The key emergening patterns along the reef gradient were the occurrence of groups of exclusive taxa in each habitat, and significant variation in biomass, greater in the TP (166.1 g m-2) and lower in the RP (70.5 g m-2). Despite being an environment under marked anthropogenic influence (i.e., tourism and development), we observed a high diversity of species, with a distribution pattern that reflects a high environmental heterogeneity and substantial ecological integrity.