Abstract
It is increasingly recognized that demersal communities are important for the functioning of continental shelf and slope ecosystems around the world, including tropical regions. Demersal communities are most prominent in areas of high detritus production and transport, and they link benthic and pelagic biological communities. To understand the structure and role of the demersal community on the southeastern Brazilian Bight, we constructed a trophodynamic model with 37 functional groups to represent the demersal community of the outer continental shelf and upper slope of this area, using the Ecopath with Ecosim 6 (EwE) approach and software. The model indicates high production and biomass of detritus and benthic invertebrates, and strong linkages of these components to demersal and pelagic sub-webs. The level of omnivory indexes in this ecosystem was high, forming a highly connected trophic web reminiscent of tropical land areas. Although high levels of ascendency may indicate resistance and resilience to disturbance, recent and present fisheries trends are probably degrading the biological community and related ecosystem services.
Highlights
Demersal communities are often very developed on continental shelves and slopes, especially in temperate zones
To understand the structure and role of the demersal community on the southeastern Brazilian Bight, we constructed a trophodynamic model with 37 functional groups to represent the demersal community of the outer continental shelf and upper slope of this area, using the Ecopath with Ecosim 6 (EwE) approach and software
The southeastern Brazilian Bight outer continental shelf and upper slope biota is supported by detritus, which is consumed by benthic species, which in turn support benthivorous species
Summary
Demersal communities are often very developed on continental shelves and slopes, especially in temperate zones This occurs because of the abundance of detritus-based food resources from water-column and nearshore production cycles and coastal watersheds, and the consumption of this detritus by bacteria, inver-. Morato et al 1999, Martins et al 2005, Muto 2005, Velasco and Castello 2005, Carvalho and Soares 2006, Bautista-Vega et al 2008). The abundance of these fish communities is reflected in their catches. In Brazil this situation is worsened by the lack of knowledge about these biological communities, in deep sea areas, owing to only minimal investment in research and the lack of specific fisheries statistics
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