Coral community at Tiaoshi in Nanwan Bay, southern Taiwan was originally dominated by branching Acropora corals which formed some monopolized patches. The community had been changed apparently on a local scale (<2 km) since 1994. Several Acropora patches were almost completely replaced by the solitary sea anemone Condylactis sp. after man-made and typhoon disturbances. However, sea anemones were apparently decreased in 2002. To understand the change of the benthic communities, three areas, including Anemone-dominated, Coral-recovery and Acropora-dominated, at depths of 6 to 10 m were selected and monitored by permanent transects from 2003 to 2005. Each site included three replicate patches. At Anemone-dominated area, the mean cover of sea anemone ranged from 24.6 to 15.3% and that of the hard corals was low with 1.4 to 3.9%. At Coral-recovery area, the mean cover of the hard corals was significantly increased from 21.3 to 38.9%, while macroalgae was significantly decreased from 20.7 to 6.1% and sea anemone was low with 1.4 to 3.0%. At Acropora-dominated area, the cover of the hard corals was ranged from 70.0 to 56.6% while macroalgae and anemone was 1.1 - 3.4% and 3.5 - 4.7%, respectively. In general, the results showed that anemone and macroalgae were decreased and corals were recovery. In addition, the diversity index of coral genera at Anemone-dominated area was higher due to coral recruitment in 2004 and 2005. The new recruits were dominated by Montipora stellata.

O método de Caracterização Fisionômica de Comunidades Marinhas Bentônicas propõe o uso da unidade operacional chamada Povoamento aliada à amostragem fotográfica. Dentre as 4 abordagens do método, o objetivo do Capítulo 2 foi testar a precisão da abordagem quantitativa quando submetida a: a) diferentes pesquisadores e b) diferentes análises realizadas pelo mesmo pesquisador. A análise de correspondência (CA), baseada no recobrimento percentual obtido em cada situação, não mostrou diferenças significativas entre os valores encontrados para os Eixos I, II, III e IV (correspondentes a 42.8% da variabilidade dos dados) quando comparados por ANOVA (p= 0.963; 0,975; 0.867; 0.894, respectivamente). Os resultados apresentados no Capítulo 2 indicam que a etapa quantitativa do Método de Caracterização Fisionômica de Comunidades Marinhas Bentônicas é pouco subjetiva. No Capítulo 3, as posições geográficas de cada povoamento foram registradas com um GPS durante duas coletas (julho/2005 e janeiro/2006). Essas posições foram inseridas na base de mapas do Google Earth com auxílio do programa GPS Track Maker. Foram registrados 41 povoamentos, sendo a maior fração (36,6%) representada por povoamentos que possuem organismos do Filo Rhodophyta como espécies dominantes. Em seguida, cada um dos Filos Chlorophyta e Ochrophyta representou 17,1% dos povoamentos. Os povoamentos cujas espécies dominantes pertencem ao grupo dos animais compuseram 29,3%; com o Filo Cnidaria apresentando a maior fração de povoamentos (12,2%) e Porifera a menor (2,4%). A posição de todos os povoamentos é apresentada em um mapa integral das comunidades marinhas bentônicas de substrato consolidado da região entre-marés da Ilha do Francês, Espírito Santo. O Capítulo 4 teve como propósito descrever quantitativamente as comunidades marinhas bentônicas do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês. A partir de observações realizadas durante o Capítulo 3, foram selecionadas três áreas que mostraram as principais variações não biológicas (exposição aos ventos predominantes, exposição ao batimento de ondas, inclinação e a orientação). Uma coleta preliminar (julho de 2005) revelou que as comunidades do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês podem ser divididas em duas grandes faixas. Em uma das faixas, o povoamento dominante foi Banco de Chthamalus (78,6%) enquanto na outra os povoamentos dominantes foram Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania (32,8%), Banco de Dictyota (16,5%) e Banco de Perna (16,7%). Nas coletas seguintes (Janeiro e Julho de 2006) a estratégia de distribuição dos elementos amostrais foi aleatória estratificada. Na faixa de algas, tanto no verão quanto no inverno, Tapete de Jania e Amphiroa foi o povoamento que apresentou os maiores recobrimentos percentuais médios na Área 1 (39% e 66,2%, respectivamente). Na Área 2 os povoamentos Banco de Dictyota (27,8%) e Tapete de Centroceras e Ceramium (28,7%) obtiveram os maiores recobrimentos médios durante o verão, enquanto no inverno o maior valor obtido foi o de Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania (55%). Na Área 4 Banco de Perna apresentou maior recobrimento médio durante o verão (43,2%) e Banco de Dictyota na coleta de inverno (29,4%). Na faixa de cracas Banco de Chthamalus apresentou maior recobrimento percentual médio em todas as áreas e épocas amostradas. Nas Áreas 1 e 2 a média do recobrimento desse povoamento apresentou maiores valores durante o inverno (87,9% e 64,6% respectivamente), enquanto na Área 4 no verão (80,7%). Espera-se que os Capítulos 3 e 4 juntos possam subsidiar acompanhamentos das condições das comunidades da Ilha do Francês, estudos de outros aspectos dessas comunidades e também o trabalho de órgãos ambientais. O Capítulo 5 tem como foco avaliar a precisão relativa de três variações (20, 50 e 100 pontos) das técnicas de pontos aleatórios aplicada à análise de imagens para comunidades marinhas bentônicas. Diferenças estatísticas entre valores de porcentagem de cobertura das diferentes técnicas foram verificadas por análise de correspondência (CA) e os valores obtidos para os dois eixos de maior variabilidade, foram testados por ANOVA. Os testes estatísticos não demonstraram diferenças quantitativa e qualitativa comparando 50 e 100 pontos aleatórios à Segmentação Manual. É possível concluir aqui que 50 ou mais pontos para análise de comunidades marinhas bentônicas fornecem dados qualitativos e quantitativos precisos. Este trabalho, além de demonstrar que o uso dos povoamentos é preciso, descreve as comunidades do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês qualitativamente e quantitativamente. Essa descrição poderá, a partir de agora, constituir o ponto de partida para o monitoramento e o gerenciamento desse ambiente frente ao crescimento econômico esperado nos próximos anos para a região. O mapeamento dessas comunidades pode, ainda, subsidiar outros aspectos de pesquisa como, por exemplo, os experimentais. Entretanto, é fundamental ainda o estudo do infralitoral do local. A inclusão desses dados complementará e poderá alterar as conclusões que obtivemos neste trabalho acerca da diversidade e dos grupos dominantes, permitindo uma visão global das comunidades bentônicas da Ilha do Francês. / The method Physiognomic Assessment of Hard Bottom Marine Benthic Communities proposes the use of operational units called settlements, allied to photographic sampling. Among the 4 approaches of this method, the Chapter 2 aimed to test the precision of the quantitative one when submitted to: a) different researchers and b) different time analysis carried out by the same researcher. The correspondence analysis (CA) based on the percent cover showed no significant differences between values found for the Axes I, II, III and IV (corresponding to 42.8 % of data variability) when compared by ANOVA (p = 0.963; 0,975; 0.867; 0.894, respectively). The results presented on Chapter 2 indicate that the quantitative approach of the Physiognomic Assessment Method of Hard Bottom Marine Benthic Communities, is little researcherdependent. On Chapter 3 the geographic position of each settlement was taken with the use of a GPS during two samples (july/2005 and january/2006). These positions were inserted into Google Earth databases with the GPS Track Maker software (version 13.2). Forty one settlements were observed. The largest fraction (36,6%) was represented by Rhodophyta; followed by Chlorophyta and Ochrophyta; The last two represented 17.1% of the total. The settlements dominated by animals represented 29,3% where Cnidaria was the most common group (12,2%) and Porifera the most uncommon one (2,4%). The location of each settlement is presented on a map of the whole hard bottom marine communities located in the intertidal zone of the Francês Island, Espírito Santo state. The Chapter 4 described the hard bottom marine communities from the tidal zone of Francês Island. Using the data mapping presented in Chapter 3, three areas that showed the main non biological variations (predominant winds exposition, waves exposition, slope and orientation) were selected. The preliminary sample (July of 2005) showed that the hard bottom communities from Francês Island can be divided in two great zones. In one zone the dominant settlement is Chthamalus Bed (78.6%) while in the other one the dominants are Amphiroa and Jania Turf (32.8%), Dictyota Bed (16.5%) and Perna Bed (16.7%). For the following samples (2006 January and July) the stratified random sample strategy was chosen. On the seaweed zone, for the area 1, both during summer and winter the Jania and Amphiroa Bed was the settlement with the highest average percent cover (39% and 66.2%, respectively). On area 2, Dictyota Bed (27.8%) and Centroceras and Ceramium Turf (28.7%) showed the highest percent cover during summer while Amphiroa and Jania were predominant (55%) on winter. On area 4 Perna Bed showed a high percentage of coverage during the summer sample (43.2%) and Dictyota Bed during the winter one (29.4%). In barnacles zone Chthamalus Bed was the dominant in all areas and seasons sampled. On areas 1 and 2 this settlement showed the highest values on as 1 during winter (87.9% and 64.6% respectively), while in Area 4 it happened during summer (80.7%). It is expected that Chapters 3 and 4 can subsidize communities monitoring, studies of other aspects of the Frances Island and also the work of environmental managers. The Chapter 5 aims to evaluate the relative precision of three variations (20, 50 and 100 points) of random points technique applied to analyze images for benthic marine communities. Statistical differences between the values of the percentage of coverage of the different techniques, were performed by correspondence analysis (CA), and the values obtained for the two major axes of variability were tested by ANOVA. Statistical tests did not present quantitative and qualitative differences comparing 50 and 100 random points to Manual Segmentation. It is possible to conclude here that the 50 or more points to analyze images of marine benthic communities supply precise qualitative and quantitative data in the case of the studied community. This work, beyond demonstrating the precision of the use of settlements, describes qualitatively and quantitatively the inter-tidal communities from Francês Island. The communities description presented here could constitute a guideline to monitoring possible alterations that can be caused by the economic development of the region. The map presented is an important tool for the Francês Islands management actions, as well as other researches concerning these communities. However, it is still fundamental a study about subtidal communities. The inclusion of these data will complement and could even modify the conclusions that we got here concerning the diversity and the dominant groups, allowing a global vision of the Francês Island benthic communities.

O método de Caracterização Fisionômica de Comunidades Marinhas Bentônicas propõe o uso da unidade operacional chamada Povoamento aliada à amostragem fotográfica. Dentre as 4 abordagens do método, o objetivo do Capítulo 2 foi testar a precisão da abordagem quantitativa quando submetida a: a) diferentes pesquisadores e b) diferentes análises realizadas pelo mesmo pesquisador. A análise de correspondência (CA), baseada no recobrimento percentual obtido em cada situação, não mostrou diferenças significativas entre os valores encontrados para os Eixos I, II, III e IV (correspondentes a 42.8% da variabilidade dos dados) quando comparados por ANOVA (p= 0.963; 0,975; 0.867; 0.894, respectivamente). Os resultados apresentados no Capítulo 2 indicam que a etapa quantitativa do Método de Caracterização Fisionômica de Comunidades Marinhas Bentônicas é pouco subjetiva. No Capítulo 3, as posições geográficas de cada povoamento foram registradas com um GPS durante duas coletas (julho/2005 e janeiro/2006). Essas posições foram inseridas na base de mapas do Google Earth com auxílio do programa GPS Track Maker. Foram registrados 41 povoamentos, sendo a maior fração (36,6%) representada por povoamentos que possuem organismos do Filo Rhodophyta como espécies dominantes. Em seguida, cada um dos Filos Chlorophyta e Ochrophyta representou 17,1% dos povoamentos. Os povoamentos cujas espécies dominantes pertencem ao grupo dos animais compuseram 29,3%; com o Filo Cnidaria apresentando a maior fração de povoamentos (12,2%) e Porifera a menor (2,4%). A posição de todos os povoamentos é apresentada em um mapa integral das comunidades marinhas bentônicas de substrato consolidado da região entre-marés da Ilha do Francês, Espírito Santo. O Capítulo 4 teve como propósito descrever quantitativamente as comunidades marinhas bentônicas do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês. A partir de observações realizadas durante o Capítulo 3, foram selecionadas três áreas que mostraram as principais variações não biológicas (exposição aos ventos predominantes, exposição ao batimento de ondas, inclinação e a orientação). Uma coleta preliminar (julho de 2005) revelou que as comunidades do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês podem ser divididas em duas grandes faixas. Em uma das faixas, o povoamento dominante foi Banco de Chthamalus (78,6%) enquanto na outra os povoamentos dominantes foram Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania (32,8%), Banco de Dictyota (16,5%) e Banco de Perna (16,7%). Nas coletas seguintes (Janeiro e Julho de 2006) a estratégia de distribuição dos elementos amostrais foi aleatória estratificada. Na faixa de algas, tanto no verão quanto no inverno, Tapete de Jania e Amphiroa foi o povoamento que apresentou os maiores recobrimentos percentuais médios na Área 1 (39% e 66,2%, respectivamente). Na Área 2 os povoamentos Banco de Dictyota (27,8%) e Tapete de Centroceras e Ceramium (28,7%) obtiveram os maiores recobrimentos médios durante o verão, enquanto no inverno o maior valor obtido foi o de Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania (55%). Na Área 4 Banco de Perna apresentou maior recobrimento médio durante o verão (43,2%) e Banco de Dictyota na coleta de inverno (29,4%). Na faixa de cracas Banco de Chthamalus apresentou maior recobrimento percentual médio em todas as áreas e épocas amostradas. Nas Áreas 1 e 2 a média do recobrimento desse povoamento apresentou maiores valores durante o inverno (87,9% e 64,6% respectivamente), enquanto na Área 4 no verão (80,7%). Espera-se que os Capítulos 3 e 4 juntos possam subsidiar acompanhamentos das condições das comunidades da Ilha do Francês, estudos de outros aspectos dessas comunidades e também o trabalho de órgãos ambientais. O Capítulo 5 tem como foco avaliar a precisão relativa de três variações (20, 50 e 100 pontos) das técnicas de pontos aleatórios aplicada à análise de imagens para comunidades marinhas bentônicas. Diferenças estatísticas entre valores de porcentagem de cobertura das diferentes técnicas foram verificadas por análise de correspondência (CA) e os valores obtidos para os dois eixos de maior variabilidade, foram testados por ANOVA. Os testes estatísticos não demonstraram diferenças quantitativa e qualitativa comparando 50 e 100 pontos aleatórios à Segmentação Manual. É possível concluir aqui que 50 ou mais pontos para análise de comunidades marinhas bentônicas fornecem dados qualitativos e quantitativos precisos. Este trabalho, além de demonstrar que o uso dos povoamentos é preciso, descreve as comunidades do médio-litoral da Ilha do Francês qualitativamente e quantitativamente. Essa descrição poderá, a partir de agora, constituir o ponto de partida para o monitoramento e o gerenciamento desse ambiente frente ao crescimento econômico esperado nos próximos anos para a região. O mapeamento dessas comunidades pode, ainda, subsidiar outros aspectos de pesquisa como, por exemplo, os experimentais. Entretanto, é fundamental ainda o estudo do infralitoral do local. A inclusão desses dados complementará e poderá alterar as conclusões que obtivemos neste trabalho acerca da diversidade e dos grupos dominantes, permitindo uma visão global das comunidades bentônicas da Ilha do Francês. / The method Physiognomic Assessment of Hard Bottom Marine Benthic Communities proposes the use of operational units called settlements, allied to photographic sampling. Among the 4 approaches of this method, the Chapter 2 aimed to test the precision of the quantitative one when submitted to: a) different researchers and b) different time analysis carried out by the same researcher. The correspondence analysis (CA) based on the percent cover showed no significant differences between values found for the Axes I, II, III and IV (corresponding to 42.8 % of data variability) when compared by ANOVA (p = 0.963; 0,975; 0.867; 0.894, respectively). The results presented on Chapter 2 indicate that the quantitative approach of the Physiognomic Assessment Method of Hard Bottom Marine Benthic Communities, is little researcherdependent. On Chapter 3 the geographic position of each settlement was taken with the use of a GPS during two samples (july/2005 and january/2006). These positions were inserted into Google Earth databases with the GPS Track Maker software (version 13.2). Forty one settlements were observed. The largest fraction (36,6%) was represented by Rhodophyta; followed by Chlorophyta and Ochrophyta; The last two represented 17.1% of the total. The settlements dominated by animals represented 29,3% where Cnidaria was the most common group (12,2%) and Porifera the most uncommon one (2,4%). The location of each settlement is presented on a map of the whole hard bottom marine communities located in the intertidal zone of the Francês Island, Espírito Santo state. The Chapter 4 described the hard bottom marine communities from the tidal zone of Francês Island. Using the data mapping presented in Chapter 3, three areas that showed the main non biological variations (predominant winds exposition, waves exposition, slope and orientation) were selected. The preliminary sample (July of 2005) showed that the hard bottom communities from Francês Island can be divided in two great zones. In one zone the dominant settlement is Chthamalus Bed (78.6%) while in the other one the dominants are Amphiroa and Jania Turf (32.8%), Dictyota Bed (16.5%) and Perna Bed (16.7%). For the following samples (2006 January and July) the stratified random sample strategy was chosen. On the seaweed zone, for the area 1, both during summer and winter the Jania and Amphiroa Bed was the settlement with the highest average percent cover (39% and 66.2%, respectively). On area 2, Dictyota Bed (27.8%) and Centroceras and Ceramium Turf (28.7%) showed the highest percent cover during summer while Amphiroa and Jania were predominant (55%) on winter. On area 4 Perna Bed showed a high percentage of coverage during the summer sample (43.2%) and Dictyota Bed during the winter one (29.4%). In barnacles zone Chthamalus Bed was the dominant in all areas and seasons sampled. On areas 1 and 2 this settlement showed the highest values on as 1 during winter (87.9% and 64.6% respectively), while in Area 4 it happened during summer (80.7%). It is expected that Chapters 3 and 4 can subsidize communities monitoring, studies of other aspects of the Frances Island and also the work of environmental managers. The Chapter 5 aims to evaluate the relative precision of three variations (20, 50 and 100 points) of random points technique applied to analyze images for benthic marine communities. Statistical differences between the values of the percentage of coverage of the different techniques, were performed by correspondence analysis (CA), and the values obtained for the two major axes of variability were tested by ANOVA. Statistical tests did not present quantitative and qualitative differences comparing 50 and 100 random points to Manual Segmentation. It is possible to conclude here that the 50 or more points to analyze images of marine benthic communities supply precise qualitative and quantitative data in the case of the studied community. This work, beyond demonstrating the precision of the use of settlements, describes qualitatively and quantitatively the inter-tidal communities from Francês Island. The communities description presented here could constitute a guideline to monitoring possible alterations that can be caused by the economic development of the region. The map presented is an important tool for the Francês Islands management actions, as well as other researches concerning these communities. However, it is still fundamental a study about subtidal communities. The inclusion of these data will complement and could even modify the conclusions that we got here concerning the diversity and the dominant groups, allowing a global vision of the Francês Island benthic communities.

Understanding how coral reefs respond to natural disturbances is fundamental to assess their resistance and resilience, particularly in a context of climate change. Therefore, and given the escalating frequency and intensity of bleaching events, it is essential to evaluate responses of communities in space and time to disentangle the mechanisms underlying ecological changes. Here, I analyzed a dataset comprising 59 reefs, resulting from 6 years (2014-2016) of a coral reef benthic monitoring program in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. It encompasses the 2015/2016 mass bleaching event and spans three different geographic regions: north (Duba and Al Wajh), central (Jeddah and Thuwal), and south (Al Lith, Farasan Islands and Farasan Banks). The results indicate significant differences between regions and through time. Coral assemblages from the southern region were the most affected by the 2015 bleaching event, where in some reefs, hard and soft corals cover dropped to <2% in 2017. Important changes in community structure were observed through time in the three regions, with a shift to a macroalgae, turf algae and CCA dominance. Different environmental drivers (salinity, sea surface temperature, fishing index, distance to shore, and photosynthetically active radiation) were analyzed, and highlighted a regionally-based response of the communities to these potential drivers of change. Overall, the examined Red Sea benthic communities presented dynamic patterns in composition. Distance decay plots based on presence/absence showed a general increase in similarity throughout multiple spatial scales in 2019, when compared to previous years. This finding suggests a loss in biodiversity due to thermal anomalies and bleaching events, evidenced by a homogenization (i.e., increase similarity) in the composition of the benthic communities. I document here a patterns of dominance of a few benthic groups with time and a decrease in branching corals. This study provides baseline information about changes in coral reef benthic community structure and identifies environmental factors with a higher impact on a regional scale. This information can be used to guide conservation efforts in these highly biodiverse ecosystems.The resulting datasets can be valuable for anticipating responses of coral communities under future climate scenarios.

Os estudos de ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas, tanto as de substratos consolidados (costões rochosos, recifes de corais, recifes de arenitos e bancos de algas calcárias) como as de substratos inconsolidados (areia, silte e sedimentos de baixa granulação), apontam para uma busca, ainda não finalizada, por padrões de distribuição que possam apresentar-se como modelo recorrente, sendo capazes de predizer sobre a composição de uma comunidade local. Como exemplos bem sucedidos, na busca de padrões, sendo marcos históricos no desenvolvimento da ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas, temos as abordagens da zonação e de níveis de fundo, que buscaram encontrar um meio prático para descrições generalistas em larga escala que se apresentassem universais. No Brasil são caracterizados 3 momentos históricos sobre ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas de substrato consolidado, que se caracterizam pelo uso de espécies como unidade operacional, recorrendo pouco a abordagens alternativas para ganho de conhecimento sobre grandes áreas. Neste estudo foi utilizado o método alternativo Caracterização fisionômica de comunidades marinhas de substrato consolidado para descrição dessas comunidades no infralitoral e busca por padrões de estruturação gerais visualmente evidentes. Este estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Ilha Anchieta, Ubatuba SP, no infralitoral do costão oeste da Enseada das Palmas, compreendido entre as coordenadas 23°31\'44.37\"S / 045° 3\'38.07\"O e 23°32\'1.62\"S / 045° 3\'39.17\"O. Como principais resultados foram encontrados 24 povoamentos descritos na Abordagem 1, 20 povoamentos no inverno e 23 no verão . Na Abordagem 2, 19, povoamentos no inverno e, na Abordagem 3., 22 no verão. Os resultados quantitativos mostram, discriminados no costão estudado, a formação de 2 grupos gerais, que se mantiveram os mesmos no inverno e no verão, permitindo a conclusão de que há um padrão geral de estruturação da comunidade visualizada. Os povoamentos determinantes na divisão dos 2 grupos foram: Colônia de Palythoa, Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania, Banco de Dichotomaria e Região de Substrato Inconsolidado. Constata-se o mundo natural como um lugar desigual, que se manifesta em manchas ou remendos distintos, apresentando-se de muitas formas e com uma ampla gama de escalas. Os resultados foram vistos sob uma perspectiva exploratória, uma vez que se buscou encontrar padrões de distribuição das comunidades apenas a partir da unidade visual povoamento, sem o registro de dados de condições ambientais. Nessa busca, visualizando tal mosaico de distribuição de formas, cores, estrutura e composição em diferentes escalas encontramos padrões gerais de distribuição da comunidade, aqui representados por 2 grandes grupos, caracterizados por estarem em um nível acima de povoamentos ou supra povoamentos / The studies on descriptive ecology of marine benthic communities, hard bottom (Rocky Shores, Coral Reefs, Sandstone Rock Reefs and Rodolith Beds) as much as soft bottom communities (sand, silt and soft substrate of low granular material), lead to a non finished search for distribution patterns that may present it as a model able to predict about the local communities composition. As successful examples on searching for patterns as historical reference on the developing of descriptive ecology of marine benthic communities we have the zonation and bottom level approaches, that seek for a practical way to describe on a general and large scale universal patterns of distribution. In Brazil we found 3 historical moments about studies dealing with descriptive ecology of hard bottom marine benthic communities, which are characterized by the use of species as an operational unit, taking advantage of few alternative approaches to acquire knowledge about the communities in large areas. In this study the alternative methodology Physiognomic characterization of hard bottom marine benthic communities was applied, to describe such communities in infra-littoral regions and to search for general structural patterns visually evident. This study was made in Anchieta Island State Park, Ubatuba SP, Brazil, on the west rocky shore of Palmas Bay, located between the geographical positions 23°31\'44.37\"S / 045° 3\'38.07\"W and 23°32\'1.62\"S / 045° 3\'39.17\"W. As main results, 24 settlements described by the first approach were found; 20 settlements in winter season and 23 in summer season by the second approach ; 19 settlements in winter season e 22 in summer season by the third approach. The quantitative results show 2 general groups found on the studied rocky shore that were the same both in winter and summer seasons, allowing that we come to the conclusion that there is a general structural pattern visualized in the communities. The determinant settlements to the formation of the 2 groups were Palythoa Colony, Amphiroa and Jania Turf, Dichotomaria Bed and Soft Bottom Region. We face the fact that nature is an unequal place, which manifests this visual difference on patches of different sizes, showing many forms and colors on a huge range of scales. The results were reviewed under an exploratory perspective, searching first for structural patterns of these communities only from the visual unit called settlement, without the data of environmental conditions. On this search, visualizing the distribution of forms, colors, structure and composition mosaic on different scales we found general patterns of communities distribution that here are represented by 2 large groups, characterized by being on a higher level than the one of the settlement

Os estudos de ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas, tanto as de substratos consolidados (costões rochosos, recifes de corais, recifes de arenitos e bancos de algas calcárias) como as de substratos inconsolidados (areia, silte e sedimentos de baixa granulação), apontam para uma busca, ainda não finalizada, por padrões de distribuição que possam apresentar-se como modelo recorrente, sendo capazes de predizer sobre a composição de uma comunidade local. Como exemplos bem sucedidos, na busca de padrões, sendo marcos históricos no desenvolvimento da ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas, temos as abordagens da zonação e de níveis de fundo, que buscaram encontrar um meio prático para descrições generalistas em larga escala que se apresentassem universais. No Brasil são caracterizados 3 momentos históricos sobre ecologia descritiva de comunidades marinhas bentônicas de substrato consolidado, que se caracterizam pelo uso de espécies como unidade operacional, recorrendo pouco a abordagens alternativas para ganho de conhecimento sobre grandes áreas. Neste estudo foi utilizado o método alternativo Caracterização fisionômica de comunidades marinhas de substrato consolidado para descrição dessas comunidades no infralitoral e busca por padrões de estruturação gerais visualmente evidentes. Este estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Ilha Anchieta, Ubatuba SP, no infralitoral do costão oeste da Enseada das Palmas, compreendido entre as coordenadas 23°31\'44.37\"S / 045° 3\'38.07\"O e 23°32\'1.62\"S / 045° 3\'39.17\"O. Como principais resultados foram encontrados 24 povoamentos descritos na Abordagem 1, 20 povoamentos no inverno e 23 no verão . Na Abordagem 2, 19, povoamentos no inverno e, na Abordagem 3., 22 no verão. Os resultados quantitativos mostram, discriminados no costão estudado, a formação de 2 grupos gerais, que se mantiveram os mesmos no inverno e no verão, permitindo a conclusão de que há um padrão geral de estruturação da comunidade visualizada. Os povoamentos determinantes na divisão dos 2 grupos foram: Colônia de Palythoa, Tapete de Amphiroa e Jania, Banco de Dichotomaria e Região de Substrato Inconsolidado. Constata-se o mundo natural como um lugar desigual, que se manifesta em manchas ou remendos distintos, apresentando-se de muitas formas e com uma ampla gama de escalas. Os resultados foram vistos sob uma perspectiva exploratória, uma vez que se buscou encontrar padrões de distribuição das comunidades apenas a partir da unidade visual povoamento, sem o registro de dados de condições ambientais. Nessa busca, visualizando tal mosaico de distribuição de formas, cores, estrutura e composição em diferentes escalas encontramos padrões gerais de distribuição da comunidade, aqui representados por 2 grandes grupos, caracterizados por estarem em um nível acima de povoamentos ou supra povoamentos / The studies on descriptive ecology of marine benthic communities, hard bottom (Rocky Shores, Coral Reefs, Sandstone Rock Reefs and Rodolith Beds) as much as soft bottom communities (sand, silt and soft substrate of low granular material), lead to a non finished search for distribution patterns that may present it as a model able to predict about the local communities composition. As successful examples on searching for patterns as historical reference on the developing of descriptive ecology of marine benthic communities we have the zonation and bottom level approaches, that seek for a practical way to describe on a general and large scale universal patterns of distribution. In Brazil we found 3 historical moments about studies dealing with descriptive ecology of hard bottom marine benthic communities, which are characterized by the use of species as an operational unit, taking advantage of few alternative approaches to acquire knowledge about the communities in large areas. In this study the alternative methodology Physiognomic characterization of hard bottom marine benthic communities was applied, to describe such communities in infra-littoral regions and to search for general structural patterns visually evident. This study was made in Anchieta Island State Park, Ubatuba SP, Brazil, on the west rocky shore of Palmas Bay, located between the geographical positions 23°31\'44.37\"S / 045° 3\'38.07\"W and 23°32\'1.62\"S / 045° 3\'39.17\"W. As main results, 24 settlements described by the first approach were found; 20 settlements in winter season and 23 in summer season by the second approach ; 19 settlements in winter season e 22 in summer season by the third approach. The quantitative results show 2 general groups found on the studied rocky shore that were the same both in winter and summer seasons, allowing that we come to the conclusion that there is a general structural pattern visualized in the communities. The determinant settlements to the formation of the 2 groups were Palythoa Colony, Amphiroa and Jania Turf, Dichotomaria Bed and Soft Bottom Region. We face the fact that nature is an unequal place, which manifests this visual difference on patches of different sizes, showing many forms and colors on a huge range of scales. The results were reviewed under an exploratory perspective, searching first for structural patterns of these communities only from the visual unit called settlement, without the data of environmental conditions. On this search, visualizing the distribution of forms, colors, structure and composition mosaic on different scales we found general patterns of communities distribution that here are represented by 2 large groups, characterized by being on a higher level than the one of the settlement

Changes in the biosphere require ecological baselines in order to compare past, present, and future conditions and identify their effects. Establishing ecological baselines for infauna in southeastern Florida is a key component to understanding effects of current and future disturbances; however, nearshore sediment infaunal communities are neither as thoroughly investigated nor as well understood as, for example, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves. Baseline studies help assess and monitor changes due, for example, to human population growth, sea level change, and global warming. Therefore, six benthic cores were collected quarterly from six locations from May 2015 to February 2016 using a 7.7-cm PVC corer to examine macroinfaunal composition, richness and diversity in relation to environment, month, and sediment characteristics (e.g., composition and sphericity). Results suggest a latitudinal gradient of infaunal abundance and diversity, which was negatively correlated with median grain size. The middle sites located nearer the Florida Current and adjacent to the extensive carbonate deep ridge complex recorded higher percentages of carbonate and median grain size than the northernmost and southernmost sites. The dominant fauna included polychaetes (chiefly Armandia agilis, Paraonis fulgens, and Leitoscoloplos fragilis), isopods (Eurydice piperata and Ancinus depressus), and mysid shrimp (Chlamydopleon dissimile). Polychaetes dominated most samples and sites; however, peracarid crustaceans (chiefly isopods) dominated three sites in May and four sites in February samples. The recency of beach replenishments showed no long term effects on the infauna. This study provides an initial baseline that will permit comparison with future macroinfaunal and sediment studies along the southeastern Florida coast.

The Florida Reef Tract (FRT) extends from the tropical Caribbean northward along the Florida coast into a warm temperate environment where tropical reef communities diminish with increasing latitude. This study was designed to map the nearshore benthic habitats including coral reefs and evaluate how the benthic communities differ between habitats and along the coast. Benthic communities across the northern FRT from Key Biscayne to Hillsboro Inlet (25.5°-26.3° N) were digitized from aerial photography taken in 2013 at a 1:1,000 scale. Three main hard-bottom habitat types were identified that ran parallel to shore and consecutively further away from shore: Colonized Pavement, Ridge, and Inner Reef. Five 1-km wide cross-shelf corridors (numbered 1-5, south to north) were designated and spaced as evenly as possible throughout the region. Five sites per habitat per corridor (70 total) were randomly selected and quantitative data collected within 4,200 m2. Significant differences in percent benthic cover among habitats were found in all corridors and within habitat types between corridors, indicating cross-shelf and latitudinal variation. Mean stony coral density increased with depth, with the Inner Reef habitat being significantly higher than both the Colonized Pavement and Ridge. Mean stony coral species richness also increased with depth, with all habitats significantly different from one another. A total of 22 stony coral species were identified within the mapped region, the three most abundant being Porites astreoides, Siderastrea siderea, and Acropora cervicornis. Results from this study support the ecosystem regions denoted in the Walker (2012) study. Corridor 1, located in the Biscayne Region, was the only corridor to contain any seagrass. In addition, Corridor 1 Inner Reef had significantly higher values for mean stony coral density, mean stony coral species richness, mean gorgonian density of the plume morphotype, and mean density of stony corals infected with Cliona spp. Corridors 2-4, located in the Broward-Miami Region, had some variability associated with them, but were generally similar in benthic composition. Corridor 5, likewise located in the Broward-Miami Region but in close proximity to the Deerfield Region, also had differences associated with it. Both the Colonized Pavement and Ridge habitats in Corridor 5 had the lowest mean coral species richness, as well as total absence of both sponge species noted in this study. Corridor 5 Inner Reef also had significantly lower mean stony coral densities compared to Corridors 1, 2, and 4. As such, these results support the idea of different biogeographic regions occurring off the southeastern Florida coast. This study produced two key findings. It discovered over 110 large (>2 m) resilient coral colonies, of which 50 were alive in various conditions. This study also found 38 acres of dense Acropora cervicornis patches, tripling the previously known area within the study region. These are the largest dense patches in the continental United States.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2018-08-21T13:55:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2010 - Joaquim Neto de Sousa Santos.pdf: 1864983 bytes, checksum: e70ed9f5ee68c8f365819e496dbb0176 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T13:55:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2010 - Joaquim Neto de Sousa Santos.pdf: 1864983 bytes, checksum: e70ed9f5ee68c8f365819e496dbb0176 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico, CNPq, Brasil. / Morphodynamism, extratification and seasonality are among the main factor to influence the composition and abundance of the macroinfauna in sandy beaches. The macroinfauna of two sandy beaches were sampled between winter-2005 and summer-2006 during low tide; one beach was protected (Flamengo beach) located in Guanabara bay, and the other was exposed to waves in the oceanic zone (Grumari beach). The hypothesis that the physical characteristics of the beaches determine the difference in composition and relative abundance of the macroinfauna was tested. Flamengo beach was characterized as dissipative and had comparatively higher t?xon richenes and lower biomass, when compared with Grumari beach that was classsified as reflective. In Flamengo beaches, higher abundance was recordded for Enoploides sp, and Emerita brasiliensis, whereas in Grumari beach Sacocirrus sp and E. brasiliensis were the most abundant taxons. The beaches showed highe dissimilarity in composition and relative abundance of the taxons (91.75%). Sacocirrus sp, Enoploides sp, Dispio uncinata, Scolelepis goodbobyi and E. brasiliensis explained 63.70% of the dissimilarity between the two beaches. In both beaches, we observed extratification in occurence and abundance of the macroinfauna in two seasons. Emerita brasiliensis occurred mainly in Grumary beach in the extrate 1 and Sacocirrus sp in extrate 2, while in Flamengo beach E. brasiliensis and Enoploides sp had the highest abundance in extrate 1 and S. goodbody and D. uncinata in extrate 3. The hypothesis that the macrofauna differs among extrate and beaches was accepted and the differences in composition and relative abundance of the macroinfauna were attributed to morphodynamism, althought other environmental factores can be influencing such differences. / O morfodinamismo, estratifica??o e a sazonalidade s?o os fatores mais importantes na determina??o da composi??o e abund?ncia da macroinfauna em praias arenosas. A macroinfauna de duas praias foi amostrada no inverno/2005 e ver?o/2006 durante a mar? baixa, sendo uma praia protegida (Flamengo) localizada na ba?a de Guanabara, e outra praia exposta localizada na zona oce?nica (Grumari). Foi testada a hip?tese que as caracter?sticas f?sicas das praias determinam diferen?as na composi??o e abund?ncia da macroinfauna. A praia do Flamengo foi caracterizada como dissipativa e apresentou maior riqueza de t?xons, e menor biomassa, quando comparada com a praia de Grumari classificada como refletiva. Na praia do Flamengo as maiores abund?ncias foram registradas para Enoploides sp, e Emerita brasiliensis, enquanto em Grumari foram Sacocirrus sp e E. brasiliensis. As praias apresentaram elevada dissimilaridade na composi??o e abund?ncia relativa dos t?xons (91.75%), Sacocirrus sp, Enoploides sp, Dispio uncinata, Scolelepis goodbobyi e E. brasiliensis explicaram 63.70% das diferen?as entre as praias. Em ambas as praias foram observadas estratifica??es na ocorr?ncia e abund?ncia da macroinfauna nas duas esta??es analisadas. Na praia de Grumari, E. brasiliensis ocorreu principalmente no estrato 1 e Sacocirrus sp no estrato 2, enquanto na praia do Flamengo E. brasiliensis e Enoploides sp apresentaram as maiores abund?ncias no estrato 1 e S. goodbodyi e D. uncinata no estrato 3. A hip?tese da varia??o na composi??o da macroinfauna entre os extratos foi aceita, e as diferen?as observadas na composi??o e abund?ncia da macroinfauna foram atribu?das ao morfodinamismo; no entanto, outros fatores ambientais podem estar relacionados com tais diferen?as.

The purpose of this work was to describe the current status of benthic communities on the main stream of Elbe River and Ohře River and their tributaries affected and non-affected by biological invasions - especially by round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and spiny - cheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus). Sampling for this research took place from April 2018 to August 2018, while morphiologic survey of waterbodies was done in November 2017. Two tributaries of the Elbe River (Milešovský brook and Ploučnice River) and one tributary of the Ohře River (Čepel) were selected for this research. Two 100 m long sections (lower stretch potentially affected by invaders and upper stretch as referential) were monitored at each tributary. At the same time a 100 m long main flow section was monitored near the mouth of the tributaries. The following parameters were monitored: morphology of the stream and basic physical and chemical parameters of water, zoobenthos community, crayfish occurrence, and fish community. The benthic communities of the upper streams were less affected by biological invasions. The biodiversity of the benthic communities in the upper sections was richer compared to the lower sections. The occurrence of the round goby seemed to be factor affecting benthic and fish communities at the sites concerned. It was an eudominant species in the Elbe section in Děčín and becoming dominant in the lower section of Ploučnice River.