Large gaps in reef distribution may hinder the dispersal of marine organisms, interrupting processes vital to the maintenance of biodiversity. Here we show the presence and location of extensive reef habitats on the continental shelf between the Amazon Reef System (ARS) and the Eastern Brazilian Reef System (ERS), two reef complexes off eastern South America. Formations located 20–50 m deep include both biogenic and geogenic structures. The presence of diverse reef assemblages suggests the widespread occurrence of rocky substrates below 50 m. These habitats represent an expansion of both the ARS and ERS and the closure of the only remaining large-scale gap (~ 1000 km) among West Atlantic reef environments. This indicates that the SW Atlantic harbors a single, yet heterogeneous, reef system that stretches for about 4000 km, and thus, represents one of the largest semi-continuous tropical marine ecosystems in the world.
Carneiro P.B.M., Ximenes Neto A.R., Jucá-Queiroz B., Teixeira C.E.P., Feitosa C.V., Barroso C.X., Matthews-Cascon H., de Morais J.O., Freitas J.E.P., Santander-Neto J., de Araújo J.T., Monteiro L.H.U., Pinheiro L.S., Braga M.D.A., Cordeiro R.T.S., Rossi S., Bejarano S., Salani S., Garcia T.M., Lotufo T.M.C., Smith T.B., Faria V.V. and Soares M.O. (2022) Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America. Scientific Reports 12(1): 17359. 10.1038/s41598-022-21341-x
@article{Carneiro2022,
Title = {Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America},
Author = {Carneiro, Pedro B. M. and Ximenes Neto, Antônio R. and Jucá-Queiroz, Bruno and Teixeira, Carlos E. P. and Feitosa, Caroline V. and Barroso, Cristiane X. and Matthews-Cascon, Helena and de Morais, Jader O. and Freitas, João E. P. and Santander-Neto, Jones and de Araújo, Jorge T. and Monteiro, Leonardo H. U. and Pinheiro, Lidriana S. and Braga, Marcus D. A. and Cordeiro, Ralf T. S. and Rossi, Sergio and Bejarano, Sonia and Salani, Sula and Garcia, Tatiane M. and Lotufo, Tito M. C. and Smith, Tyler B. and Faria, Vicente V. and Soares, Marcelo O.},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Scientific Reports},
Year = {2022},
Pages = {17359},
Volume = {12},
Doi = {10.1038/s41598-022-21341-x},
Abstract = {Large gaps in reef distribution may hinder the dispersal of marine organisms, interrupting processes vital to the maintenance of biodiversity. Here we show the presence and location of extensive reef habitats on the continental shelf between the Amazon Reef System (ARS) and the Eastern Brazilian Reef System (ERS), two reef complexes off eastern South America. Formations located 20–50 m deep include both biogenic and geogenic structures. The presence of diverse reef assemblages suggests the widespread occurrence of rocky substrates below 50 m. These habitats represent an expansion of both the ARS and ERS and the closure of the only remaining large-scale gap (~ 1000 km) among West Atlantic reef environments. This indicates that the SW Atlantic harbors a single, yet heterogeneous, reef system that stretches for about 4000 km, and thus, represents one of the largest semi-continuous tropical marine ecosystems in the world.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Carneiro, Pedro B. M.
AU - Ximenes Neto, Antônio R.
AU - Jucá-Queiroz, Bruno
AU - Teixeira, Carlos E. P.
AU - Feitosa, Caroline V.
AU - Barroso, Cristiane X.
AU - Matthews-Cascon, Helena
AU - de Morais, Jader O.
AU - Freitas, João E. P.
AU - Santander-Neto, Jones
AU - de Araújo, Jorge T.
AU - Monteiro, Leonardo H. U.
AU - Pinheiro, Lidriana S.
AU - Braga, Marcus D. A.
AU - Cordeiro, Ralf T. S.
AU - Rossi, Sergio
AU - Bejarano, Sonia
AU - Salani, Sula
AU - Garcia, Tatiane M.
AU - Lotufo, Tito M. C.
AU - Smith, Tyler B.
AU - Faria, Vicente V.
AU - Soares, Marcelo O.
TI - Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America
T2 - Scientific Reports
PY - 2022
SP - 17359
VL - 12
DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-21341-x
AB - Large gaps in reef distribution may hinder the dispersal of marine organisms, interrupting processes vital to the maintenance of biodiversity. Here we show the presence and location of extensive reef habitats on the continental shelf between the Amazon Reef System (ARS) and the Eastern Brazilian Reef System (ERS), two reef complexes off eastern South America. Formations located 20–50 m deep include both biogenic and geogenic structures. The presence of diverse reef assemblages suggests the widespread occurrence of rocky substrates below 50 m. These habitats represent an expansion of both the ARS and ERS and the closure of the only remaining large-scale gap (~ 1000 km) among West Atlantic reef environments. This indicates that the SW Atlantic harbors a single, yet heterogeneous, reef system that stretches for about 4000 km, and thus, represents one of the largest semi-continuous tropical marine ecosystems in the world.
ER -
