Article

Article name HARVEST OF ENDANGERED MARINE INVERTEBRATES IN A PRIORITY AREA FOR CONSERVATION IN BRAZIL
Authors

Flavia C.F. Pinheiro, Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza (Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil); Department of Oceanography and Ecology of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil).
Hudson T. Pinheiro, Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza (Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil); Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department of the University of California Santa Cruz (California 95060, USA); California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, California 94118, USA); e-mail: htpinheiro@gmail.com
Thiago J.F. Costa, Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza (Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil).
João B. Teixeira, Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza (Vitória, Espírito Santo 29050-780, Brazil); State University of Santa Cruz (Ilhéus, Bahia 45662-900, Brazil).
João L. Gasparini, Department of Oceanography and Ecology of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil).
Jean-Christophe Joyeux, Department of Oceanography and Ecology of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil).
Agnaldo S. Martins, Department of Oceanography and Ecology of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil).

Reference to article

Pinheiro F.C.F., Pinheiro H.T., Costa T.J.F., Teixeira J.B., Gasparini J., Joyeux J.-C., Martins A.S. 2018. Harvest of endangered marine invertebrates in a priority area for conservation in Brazil. Nature Conservation Research 3(4): 78–81. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2018.050

Section Short Communications
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2018.050
Abstract

The harvesting of marine organisms for aquarium and ornamental art crafts is a very common and widespread activity, threatening a number of coral reef species. The goal of this manuscript is to report the intensive harvesting of two marine invertebrate species, the starfish Oreaster reticulatus and the gorgonian Phyllogorgia dilatata, in reef environments of a national priority area for the creation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Espírito Santo State, central coast of Brazil. These species were present on the 2003 Brazilian Red List of Endangered species as threatened of extinction, but P. dilatata was removed from the most recent 2014 Brazilian Red List, while O. reticulatus is currently considered vulnerable. Neither species have been assessed by IUCN. The harvest of these invertebrates was registered in 17% of the 51 days of monitoring (ten expeditions between March 2005 and February 2006), with catches of up to 24 starfishes and 1000 gorgonians in a single day. Starfishes used to be sold to local traders for US$ 0.50 each, and each gorgonian for US$ 0.15. This starfish is already in decline on a regional scale, and the actual harvesting rate of the gorgonian could lead to the extinction of the local population in about 17 years of exploitation. Due to the ecological importance of these two endangered species, their harvest threatens the entire local rocky reef ecosystem. Further ecological and fisheries studies on these species should be conducted, and the definition and creation of the MPA could help to manage all the unsustainable activities conducted and expected in the region.

Keywords

endangered marine invertebrates, gorgonian, harvest, Marine Protected Area, Oreaster reticulatus, Phyllogorgia dilatata, starfish

Artice information

Received: 10.03.2017

The full text of the article
References

Alvarado J.J. 2011. Echinoderm diversity in the Caribbean Sea. Marine Biodiversity 41(2): 261–285. DOI: 10.1007/s12526-010-0053-0
Cassola G.E., Pacheco M.S.C., Barbosa M.C., Hansen D.M., Ferreira C.E.L. 2016. Decline in abundance and health state of an Atlantic subtropical gorgonian population. Marine Pollution Bulletin 104(1–2): 329–334. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.022
Costa T.J.F. 2009. Estrutura da comunidade bentônica dos recifes rochosos da Ilha dos Franceses, sudeste do Brasil, utilizando a técnica amostral de fotoquadrate digital. Vitória (ES): Department of Biology FAESA. 59 p.
Gasparini J.L., Floeter S.R., Ferreira C.E.L., Sazima I. 2005. Marine ornamental trade in Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 14(12): 2883–2899. DOI: 10.1007/s10531-004-0222-1
Krohling W., Netto R.F., Mercier A.L.F. 2010. Estudo populacional das colônias de Phyllogorgia dilatata (Esper, 1806) em dois ambientes costeiros no Estado do Espírito Santo. Natureza on line 8(3): 123–126.
Lasker H.R. 2013. Recruitment and resilience of a harvested Caribbean octocoral. PloS ONE 8(9): e74587. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074587
Lecchini D., Polti S., Nakamura Y., Mosconi P., Tsuchiya M., Remoissenet G., Planes S. 2006. New perspectives on aquarium fish trade. Fisheries Science 72: 40–47. DOI: 10.1111/j.1444-2906.2006.01114.x
Machado A.B.M., Drummond G.M., Paglia A.P. 2008. Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção. Vol. 2. Brasilia: Ministério do Meio Ambiente. 1420 p.
Micael J., Alves M.J., Costa A.C., Jones M.B. 2009. Exploitation and Conservation of Echinoderms. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 47: 191–208.
MMA. 2007. Áreas prioritárias para conservação no Brasil. Available from http://www.mma.gov.br/biodiversidade/projetos-sobre-a-biodiveridade/projeto-de-conservação-e-utilização-sustentável-da-diversidade-biológica-brasileira-probio-i/áreas-prioritárias.
MMA. 2014. Portarias Nos. 443, 444, 445, de 17 de Dezembro de 2014, Diário Oficial da União. Seção 1, 245, 110 (18 December 2014).
Pinheiro H.T., Ferreira A.L., Molina R.P., Protti L.M.C., Zanardo S.C., Joyeux J.-C., Doxsey J.R. 2009. Profile of social actors as a tool for the definition of marine protected areas: the case of the Ilha dos Franceses, southern coast of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Natureza & Conservação 7(1): 181–194.
Pinheiro H.T., Joyeux J.-C., Martins A.S. 2010a. Reef Fisheries and Underwater Surveys Indicate Overfishing of a Brazilian Coastal Island. Natureza & Conservação 8(2): 151–159. DOI: 10.4322/natcon.00802008
Pinheiro H.T., Ferreira A.L., Teixeira J.B. 2010b. Diagnóstico ambiental do litoral sul do estado do Espírito Santo: estudos complementares para a criação de uma unidade de conservação marinha. Vitória: Associação Ambiental Voz da Natureza. 228 p.
Pinheiro H.T., Martins A.S., Joyeux J.-C. 2013. The importance of small-scale environment factors to community structure patterns of tropical rocky reef fish. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 93(5): 1175–1185. DOI: 10.1017/S0025315412001749
Pinheiro H.T., Madureira J., Joyeux J.-C., Martins A. 2015. Fish diversity of a southwestern Atlantic coastal island: aspects of distribution and conservation in a marine zoogeographical boundary. Check List 11(2): 1615. DOI: 10.15560/11.2.1615
Rhyne A.L., Tlusty M.F., Schofield P.J., Kaufman L., Morris J.A., Bruckner A.W. 2012. Revealing the Appetite of the Marine Aquarium Fish Trade: The Volume and Biodiversity of Fish Imported into the United States. PloS ONE 7(5): e35808. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035808
Sadovy Y.J., Vincent A.C.J. 2002. Ecological Issues and the Trades in Live Reef Fishes. In: P.F. Sale (Ed.): Coral Reef Fishes: Dynamics and Diversity in a Complex Ecosystem. San Diego, California, USA: Academic Press. P. 391–420.
Scheibling R. 2013. Oreaster reticulatus. In: J.M. Lawrence (Ed.): Starfish: Biology and Ecology of the Asteroidea. Baltimore, USA: Johns Hopkins University Press. P. 142–152.
Yoshioka P.M., Yoshioka B.B. 1991. A comparison of the survivorship and growth of shallow-water gorgonian species of Puerto Rico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 69(3): 253–260. DOI: 10.3354/meps069253