Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Spatial distribution of nominally herbivorous fishes across environmental
gradients on Brazilian rocky reefs
C. A. M. M. Cordeiro*1, Mendes, T. C.1,2, A. R. Harborne3 and C. E. L. Ferreira1
(1) Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Ambientes Recifais, Departamento de
Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Caixa Postal 100644, CEP
24001-970, Niterói-RJ, Brazil
(2) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR "Entropie", Labex
Corail, Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, 66000, France
(3) Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory and Australian Research Council Centre of
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Biological Sciences, Goddard Building,
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Supplementary material
Temperature
Temperature was measured at 6 hour intervals during the period from January
2011 to November 2013 using a data logger (Tidbit v2 Onset HOBO) installed at
Franceses, western side of the isthmus (depth = 3m). Daily averages were plotted within
months during the three-year period. The sampling period is marked in figure 1s with a
dashed square. The upwelling events, as described by Valentim (1984) are more in
frequent during summertime, and did not overlap with the sampling period.
Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Fig. S1 Temperature variation (depth = 3m) from western side of the isthmus of Arraial do Cabo from 2011 to 2013. The dashed square indicates
the period of sampling of roving herbivores.
Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Substrate cover
Fig. S2 Comparative percent cover of benthic morpho-functional groups between
western and eastern sites across a depth gradient. ACA – articulated coralline algae,
CCA – crustose coralline algae, EAM – Epilithic algal matrix.
Wave exposure
Wave exposure at each site was calculated using linear wave theory (see full
details in Harborne et al., 2006). Briefly, online wind data archives (BDMEP, 2013)
were analyzed to calculate the mean wind speed in eight 45° segments, and the
proportion of time the wind blew from within each segment (Table SI). The fetch was
then calculated in each of eight directions (the central point of each segment, namely 0°,
45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, and 315°), and these fetches were combined with the
depth of each survey at each site and the appropriate linear wave energy equations to
calculate wave energy in each direction. Total wave energy for each site was calculated
as the sum of these eight values, after each had been weighted by the proportion of time
the wind blew from that segment.
Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Exposure values (1–6 m) varied significantly among sites to the east (1–4; mean
± S.E. = 0·003 ± 0·001 J m-3, n = 24) and west (5-8; mean ± S.E. = 0·41 ± 0·06 J m-3, n
= 24) of the isthmus (t-test, t24 = -2·63, P = 0·015).
Table SI Summarised values of wind data from Arraial
do Cabo (Brazil) from January 2010 to February 2013.
Wind speed
(mean ± s.d.)
N
0·01
2·55 ± 0·07
NE
0·23
3·90 ± 3·11
E
0·40
4·95 ± 2·30
SE
0·09
3·05 ± 1·65
S
0·03
2·11 ± 1·17
SW
0·03
1·65 ± 0·93
W
0·17
2·78 ± 1·43
NW
0·04
2·11 ± 1·17
PTWD – proportion of time the wind blew from each
direction. Wind speed is shown in m s-1.
Direction
PTWD
Exposure (log J m-3)
10
1
0.1
0.01
0.001
0.0001
Abobrinha
Anequim
Maramutá
Porcos
Franceses
Ingleses
Sonar
Sometudo
Fig. S3 Wave exposure values calculated within the top meter of water at studied sites
in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil. Gray bars represent eastern sites and black bars western
sites. Note that the y-axis is on a logarithmic scale.
Density (n 100m-2)
Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Acanthurus bahianus
40
20
20
4
10
10
2
0
0
M
S
West
D M
S
D
M
Density (n 100m-2)
S
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
S
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
D M
S
East
400
200
0
S
West
D M
S
D
M
S
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
S
D M
West
S
D
M
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
S
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
S
D M
M
S
West
D M
East
10 - 20 cm
S
D M
S
East
5
4
3
2
1
0
M
S
West
D M
East
20 - 30 cm
D
M
20 - 30 cm
D M
East
M
S
D M
S
D
M
S
West
East
30 - 40 cm
D
S
M
S
West
East
D M
S
D
M
S
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
8
S
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
30 - 40 cm
D M
S
D
East
M
S
West
20 - 30 cm
D M
S
D M
S
East
30 - 40 cm
Sparisoma tuiupiranga
D
East
M
S
West
30 - 40 cm
D M
S
D
M
S
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
S
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
Sparisoma axillare
D M
S
East
30 - 40 cm
Scarus zelindae
8
6
4
2
0
D
M
S
West
D M
S
D
M
S
West
East
D M
S
D
East
M
S
West
20 - 30 cm
10 - 20 cm
S
D M
0
East
S
West
S
2
30 - 40 cm
S
M
West
D M
S
East
D
M
S
West
30 - 40 cm
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
D
D
4
D
S
Sparisoma amplum
D
S
West
10 - 20 cm
0
D M
M
6
30 - 40 cm
1
S
D
East
West
2
M
S
Kyphosus spp.
East
3
D
D M
50
40
30
20
10
0
S
Sparisoma frondosum
4
S
10 - 20 cm
Diplodus argenteus
M
M
West
600
Acanthurus coeruleus
0
D
30 - 40 cm
800
D
Density (n 100m-2)
8
6
D
Density (n 100m-2)
Acanthurus chirurgus
30
30
D M
East
10 - 20 cm
S
D
M
S
West
D M
East
20 - 30 cm
S
D
M
S
West
D M
S
East
30 - 40 cm
Sparisoma radians
D
M
S
West
D M
East
10 - 20 cm
S
D
M
S
West
D M
East
20 - 30 cm
S
D
M
S
West
D M
S
East
30 - 40 cm
Fig. S4Density of roving herbivore fishes according to size class, depth (D – deep, M – mid-depth, S - shallow) and location (west and east).
Boxplot represents the median, Q1, Q3, minimum and maximum values.
Herbivorous fishes on Brazilian Rocky reefs
Fig. S5 Interaction plot of mean biomass of Diplodus argenteus at eastern and western
sites according to depth strata.
References
BDMEP (2013) Meteorological database for research and teaching purposes. Instituto
Nacional de Meteorologia, Brazil. Available in http://www.inmet.gov.br. Accessed:
27 Dec 2013
Harborne, A. R., Mumby, P. J., Zychaluk, K., Hedley, J. D., Blackwell, P. G. (2006)
Modeling the beta diversity of coral reefs. Ecology 87(11), 2871-2881
Valentin, J. L. (1984). Analyse des parametres hydrobiologiques dans la remotee de
Cabo Frio (Bresil). Marine Biology 82, 259–276.