title: Decline in abundance and health state of an Atlantic subtropical gorgonian population.
abstract: Losses in coral cover have been widely reported for the Caribbean. In contrast, much less is known about the health state of the Brazilian reef fauna, which was declared as a priority for Atlantic biodiversity conservation due to its high degree of endemism. In the present study, we assessed the general health state of Phyllogorgia dilatata assemblages at the subtropical reefs of Arraial do Cabo (southeastern Brazil), where observations suggest that the abundance of this endemic gorgonian species has declined. We found that about 49% of the sampled colonies were dead, and 73% of the living colonies were affected by tissue loss. Tissue loss initially manifested as multifocal holes in the planar colonial coenenchyme and peripheral tissue retraction leaving denuded skeletal axes. In combination with other recent studies, our results raise the awareness for an increasingly threatened Southwestern Atlantic reef coral fauna.
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: gabriel.ernicassola@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erni Cassola
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Caixa Postal 100.644, CEP 24.001-970 Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Matheus S C
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Caixa Postal 100.644, CEP 24.001-970 Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Moysés C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Caixa Postal 100.644, CEP 24.001-970 Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos E L
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development*; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D017691:Caribbean Region; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring
keywords: Brazil; Disease; Gorgonians; Rocky reef; Subtropical