Abstract
The ecosystems of Brazil's continental shelf and oceanic islands comprise a variety of environments that display unique geomorphological and geophysical features and biotic components. The quest to attain knowledge of Brazilian marine fauna is hampered by coastline length, biodiversity, a high rate of endemism, and a shortage of specialized researchers. Based on a systematic bibliographic review, the article offers an overview of the history, current knowledge, and outlook for the field of marine biodiversity in Brazil. Our findings show that government initiatives have afforded greater knowledge of Brazilian marine fauna species and opened new perspectives, including reliance on complex tools to describe benthic marine habitats in terms of their geological, geophysical, and biotic composition.
Highlights
Brazil’s 7,400-kilometer-long coast is home to a variety of ecosystems that display unique geomorphological and geophysical features and biotic components, comprised of communities of associated organisms (Knoppers, Ekau, Figueiredo, 1999; Diaz, Solan, Valente, 2004)
The topic is of great interest to Brazil’s scientific community and government sector; it is a right of citizens to have knowledge about these ecosystems, since, as Lana has emphasized, diversity is an inherent feature of our surrounding environment
Improving knowledge of species diversity is a major challenge, given the geographic size and diversity of environments found in Brazil and the country’s high rates of endemism (Couto, Silveira, Rocha, 2003; Joly et al, 2011)
Summary
Rua Pacheco Leão, 915 22460-030 – Rio de Janeiro – RJ – Brazil Received for publication in March 2013. LONGO, Leila de Lourdes; AMADO FILHO, Gilberto Menezes. Knowledge of Brazilian benthic marine fauna throughout time. Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, v.21, n.3, jul.-set.
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