Abstract
Ilha Grande Bay region comprises a large biological biodiversity distributed in different ecological compartments and also is surrounded by shellmounds dating between 8.000 and 2.000 years B.P. A check list of Fish fauna from 11 of these shellmounds was done and compared with nowadays fish inventory for the region. Most of the species recorded for the shellmounds belongs to the class Chondrichthyes (53.5%), which is represented in the check list by 9 families and 38 species, being Carcharhinus Blainville, 1816, the genus with the highest number of species. Regarding the Osteichthyes, 16 families and 33 species were recorded. Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823) was recorded for all sites. Most of the fish identified has a wide distribution in the western Atlantic (35.2%), pelagic behavior (35.2%) and inhabits estuarine environments (36.6%). Almost all the records are composed of noble fish representing top chain carnivorous which can reach large sizes, especially the Chondrichthyes. Comparisons done with current ichthyofauna data for the area (Ministry of Environment Brazil) have shown high similarity between past and present pattern of biodiversity, although some discrepancies were found for comparisons sorting species by their ecological compartments. The results show that shellmounds are valuable repositories of information concerning species composition in the past and, therefore, to the study of evolution of biodiversity patterns over time. Data on this nature are important for conservation and management strategies.
Highlights
Eight thousand years before present, a large part of the Brazilian coast was inhabited by human groups of fishermen-gatherers
These prehistoric human populations left as evidence of their existence archaeological sites called “sambaqui”, a term derived from Tupi language
The remains found in the “sambaquis” can provide information about prehistoric societies, their eating habits and use of resources for making ornaments and artifacts (Gaspar 2000). These remains comprises information about the fauna and flora existing at the time it was formed, enabling recovery of aspects related to biodiversity and biogeography of these species (Froyd & Willis 2008, Lindbladh et al 2007, Ybert-Scheel et al 2006, Fürsich 1995)
Summary
Eight thousand years before present, a large part of the Brazilian coast was inhabited by human groups of fishermen-gatherers. Patterns of biodiversity of marine fishes were investigated at Ilha Grande Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). An inventory of fish species registered for “sambaquis” was built and compared with current data of ichthyofauna for the same area.
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