Research on coral reefs
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and are often called the “rainforests of the sea.” About 25% of the ocean’s fish depend on healthy coral reefs. Fishes and other organisms shelter, find food, reproduce, and rear their young in the many nooks and crannies formed as the coral grows.
Shallow water, reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae, which live in their tissues. The coral provides a protected environment and chemical compounds the zooxanthellae need for photosynthesis. In return, the algae produce carbohydrates that the coral uses for food, as well as oxygen. The algae also help the coral remove waste.
Coral reefs protect coastlines from storms and erosion, provide jobs for local communities, and offer opportunities for recreation. They are also a source of food and new medicines. Over half a billion people depend on reefs for food, income, and protection. Fishing, diving, and snorkeling on and near reefs add hundreds of millions of dollars to local businesses. These ecosystems are also culturally important to indigenous people around the world.
Coral reefs in Brazil are distributed along 3,000 km of the Brazilian Northeastern coast, and represent the only coral reef ecosystem in the South Atlantic. Local populations largely depend on reef resources for their security and livelihood. Human-related activities that affect the Brazilian reefs are the same that threaten most coral reefs around the world, such as land-use practices that increase sedimentation, domestic and agricultural pollution, overexploitation of reef resources, and uncontrolled tourism.
RESEARCH PROJECTS ON BRAZILIAN CORAL REEFS
- Coastal nutrification in Brazil: A review of the role of nutrient excess on coral reef demise
- Anthropogenic nutrient pollution of coral reefs in Southern Bahia, Brazil
- Seasonal and spatial controls on the delivery of excess nutrients to nearshore and offshore coral reefs of Brazil
- Benthic macroalgal distribution in coastal and offshore reefs at Porto Seguro Bay, Brazilian Discovery Coast
- Spatial and seasonal distribution of seaweeds on coral reefs from Southern Bahia, Brazil
- Nutrification impacts on coral reefs from northern Bahia, Brazil