Estrutura e diversidade das assembleias de peixes recifais na Baía da Ilha Grande: importância de variáveis físicas, da estrutura do habitat e variações temporais de curto prazo

Abstract

Rocky reef fish assemblages change along extreme environmental conditions gradients; both spatial (across gradients of distance from the river mouths) and short term temporal (diel cycle of light intensity). Moreover, changes in connection to habitat heterogeneity can occur, even for tropical rocky reefs with a more homogenous habitat structure. Knowledge of the way that fish assemblages respond to these changes is fundamental to identify the variables that determine spatial patterns and to predict how impacts in great or low intensity can affect diversity. The main aims of this study were: (1) to determine influence of physical (distance from river mouth and wave exposure), biological (benthic cover) and structural (substratum height and number of shelters) variables in structuring fish assemblages, species richness, abundance, biomass and trophic groups diversity; (2) to assess diel changes in composition and structure of fish assemblages; (3) to relate changes in species composition (beta diversity) with habitat heterogeneity for a small scale (among transects in a given area), and the relationship between beta and alfa diversity (species richness, richness estimation and Shannon diversity). Subaquatic visual census were carried out in Ilha Grande coastal reefs, encompassing (1) islands distributed along a spatial gradient of distance from river mouth; (2) six different time periods, i.e., sunrise (06:00h), morning (08:30h), afternoon (14:00h), sunset (17:30h), early night (19:30h) and night (21:00h) in two shallow coastal reef; and (3) in transect in four areas to assess beta biodiversity. Habitat structure (benthic cover and topographic complexity) assessment was performed (objectives 1 and 3). The distance from river mouth explained from 12.4% to 38.2% of the estimated components of variation (ECV) of PERMANOVA for all analyzed response variables, playing a major role in determining spatial patterns of fish assemblages. Differences between reefs close and far from river mouth reached a maximum of 4.5x for richness, 11x for biomass and 10x for abundance. The substrate height was positively related to fish abundance, species richness and trophic groups diversity (ECV between 7.3 % and 17.4%), whereas the number of shelters was positively associated to small-sized species abundance such as Stegastes fuscus, Emblemariopsis signifer and Scartella cristata. Benthic cover had significant influence to determine spatial pattern in fish assemblage structure and diversity of trophic groups (ECV = 8% and 10%, respectively), but not in species richness, biomass and fish abundance. Wave exposure had significant influence on fish assemblage structure only (ECV = 10%). The fish assemblage changes drastically along diel cycle. Species richness and fish abundance were at the highest during the period of the day with intermediary values at twilight periods, and at the lowest during the night. The highest difference in assemblage structure was found between the periods of the day and the night. The families Sciaenidae, mainly represented by Pareques acuminatus, and Pempheridae represented by Pempheris schomburgkii were more abundant during the night, whereas Haemulidae Haemulon steindachneri, Pomacentridae Abudefduf saxatilis, Chaetodondidae Chaetodon striatus, and Labrisomidae Malacoctenus delalandii were more abundant during the day. The twilight periods were similar in assemblage structure, and had as characteristics species of the day (H. steindachneri, M. acutirostris) and the night (P. acuminatus), reflecting a transitional period. Significant positive relationship was detected between habitat heterogeneity and beta diversity. The area with more ix homogeneous habitat and low variation in fish assemblage was dominated by little threedimensionally complex organisms (zoanthids), while areas that had fleshy algae, turf and zoanthids with a more even percentage cover had higher heterogeneity and beta diversity. For all measures of examined alfa diversity, the area with more heterogeneous habitat and with the highest beta diversity had the highest alfa diversity compared with areas with more homogenous habitat e lowest beta diversity. However, positive relationship between alfa and beta diversity was significant for species richness, but not for estimate of richness and Shannon index. This study demonstrated that changes in assemblages in spatial and short term (from transects to 10 km, and diel cycle) scales may be attributed to changes in local habitat structure, both composition of dominant benthic organisms and habitat heterogeneity and can be associated to behavioral characteristics mainly related to strategies of food acquirement and protection against predation