Influência de esponjas no processo de aglutinação de rodolitos e formação de recifes consolidados

Abstract

Rhodolith bed has aroused growing interest of the scientific community, not being different to the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (FNA). FNA rhodolith banks occur at depths of 10 to 100m and are peculiar habitat that increases structural complexity, providing increased associated diversity compared to unconsolidated substrates. The interaction between rhodoliths and sponges is the focus of this study. On the banks of AFN sponges play an important role in the stabilization mechanism of rhodoliths, accounting for coalescing neighbour nodules, which may point to an early stage of an on going process of stabilization in the form of a consolidated reef. The presence of reef-building corals in the adjacent rocky shore can also be related to the rhodolith banks as polyp’s skeletons were found nucleating rhodoliths. This study identified which organisms were agglutinating rhodolith nodules at Cabeço da Sapata (45m deep) and if is there any relationship between physical characteristics of the bank and the occurrence of agglutinated complex. It was also described the physical structure and the frequency of occurrence of agglutinated rhodolith. Sponges was the main group of sessile fauna found coalescing rhodoliths and this process points to a relationship between size of the nodules and the variation in size between the nodes. The importance of sponges to the rhodoliths beds and potentially to the process of consolidated reefs formation is reinforced by this study.