title: Before-after environmental impact assessment of an artificial channel opening on a south-western Atlantic choked lagoon system.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the human induced impact of a channel opening in a choked lagoon and attempted to establish the cause-effect links for the observed changes. The same lagoon system was sampled before and after the channel opening event, and the differences in fish and crustacean assemblages and environmental variables between these periods analysed. The opening of the artificial channel resulted in salinity increases, leading to a shift in species composition, favouring marine species and reducing abundance and diversity of previously dominant freshwater species. Furthermore, saltwater entrance into the choked lagoon caused an unexpected decrease in species richness and biomass, plus deterioration of ecosystem processes, reducing fishing capacity. The effects of salinity on the ecosystem vary depending on the ecosystem's composition and capacity to overcome salinity changes, thus specific monitoring projects are important strategies for developing coastal lagoon conservation management.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Instituto de Pesca do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-FIPERJ, Avenida Amaral Peixoto, s/n°, Barra-Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Laboratório de Biologia e Tecnologia Pesqueira, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Pau-Brasil, 211 CCS-Bl. A, Ilha do Fundão, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Laboratório de Biologia do Necton e Ecologia Pesqueira - ECOPESCA, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Outeiro São João Batista, s/n° Niterói - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prestrelo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia do Necton e Ecologia Pesqueira - ECOPESCA, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Outeiro São João Batista, s/n° Niterói - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monteiro-Neto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D001938:Brazil; D003445:Crustacea; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D005618:Fresh Water; D011156:Population Density; D054712:Salinity; D012621:Seasons
keywords: anthropogenic factors; coastal lagoon; fishes; man-induced effects; south-eastern Brazil