The Serra Spanish mackerel fishery (Scomberomorus brasiliensis – Teleostei) in Southern Brazil: the growing landings of a high trophic level resource

In fisheries, the phenomenon known as fishing down food webs is supposed to be a consequence of overfishing, which would be reflected in a reduction in the trophic level of landings. In such scenarios, the resilience of carnivorous, top predator species is particularly affected, making these resources the first to be depleted. The Serra Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus brasiliensis, exemplifies a predator resource historically targeted by artisanal fisheries on the Brazilian coast. The present work analyzes landings in three periods within a 50-year timescale on the Parana coast, Southern Brazil, aiming to evaluate whether historical production has supposedly declined. Simultaneously, the diet was analyzed to confirm carnivorous habits and evaluate the trophic level in this region. Surprisingly, the results show that from the 1970’s to 2019 Serra Spanish mackerel production grew relatively to other resources, as well as in individual values. The trophic level was calculated as 4.238, similar to other Scomberomorus species, consisting of a case where landings increase over time, despite the high trophic level and large body size of the resource. The results agree with a recent global assessment that has demystified a necessary correlation between high trophic level and overexploitation, but possible factors acting on the present findings are discussed.

RECORD OF Ostrea puelchana D’ORBIGNY, 1842 (BIVALVIA: OSTREIDAE), AS NEW EPIBIONT IN Eriphia gonagra (FABRICIUS, 1781) (CRUSTACEA: ERIPHIIDAE) FROM NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

In this paper, we describe the first association of the ostreid species Ostrea puelchana d’Orbigny, 1842, as new epibiont in Eriphia gonagra (Fabricius, 1781), with material collected in Northeastern Brazil. The specimens of E. gonagra were collected manually in November of 2020 during the low tide in the Barra de Catuama beach, State of Pernambuco. Among 10 specimens collected, only one adult male showed the presence of two commensal specimens of O. puelchana adhered in the epibranchial and antero-lateral regions of the basibiont (right side). The presence of the epibiont O. puelchana on the new host E. gonagra expands the range of the crustacean species potentially used as hosts by this oyster along the Brazilian coast. Keywords: marine invertebrates, biological interactions, Pernambuco, commensalism, beachrocks.

MARINE HARDBOTTOM ENVIRONMENTS IN THE BEACHES OF CEARÁ STATE, EQUATORIAL COAST OF BRAZIL

This paper is a literature review on marine hardbottom environments (MHE) that emerge in coastal regions in the Brazilian state of Ceará. This stretch of the Brazilian coast houses several rock formations, which are widely distributed in the intertidal zone. These formations have various origins and composition, ranging from crystalline rocks to biogenic structures, but most are composed by sandstones. These substrates support biodiverse ecosystems that produce valuable environmental goods and services, which have historical and socioeconomic relevance for the state. Despite their importance, they are currently threatened by various types of local and global stressors, and a consistent government effort to protect them is still lacking. There are many knowledge gaps regarding these formations and new studies are needed to support conservation actions involving these ecosystems. Keywords: reef, beachrock, sandstone, intertidal zone, benthos

A CFD Analysis of Decommissioned Oil Platforms Jackets on the Brazilian Coast

Every facility reaches the last phase in its life cycle, which is decommissioning. Since the last decade, this subject has been gaining importance in Brazil’s offshore oil and gas companies. For jacket type rigs, one of the methods widely applied after idling the production is the conversion of these structures into artificial reefs (ARs). There are several critical aspects for choosing the best strategy for cutting and sinking a platform jacket, ensuring the success of an AR from a biological point of view. One of them is the influence of marine currents and their fluid-structure interaction which, by maximizing local upwelling and back vortex effects, favours the growth of aggregated flora and fauna. This study consists in the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques for studying the marine flow around a disassembled and sunk jacket in the seabed for the purpose of converting it into an artificial reef. An FVM (Finite Volume Method) from a commercial software (most recent version of ANSYS FLUENT®) is applied with the upwind scheme. A k-ε turbulence model on steady state is chosen. Field data about Brazilian coastal currents are collected and analysed from the amount of information available on a Brazilian Navy's meteoceanographic program. Next, different combinations of cutting and sinking a jacket are studied, always keeping a minimum 55m free water column. The objective is to verify where the formation of local upwelling regions - that is, where the vertical velocity component reaches values equal or greater than 10% of the magnitude of the free flow velocity - is more significant, without decreasing back eddy formation. It is observed that the dismemberment of the jacket with the positioning of its parts in an increasing height sequence in the direction of the prevailing current is favourable to generate local upwelling while tipping the structure at 90° to the prevailing current results in the most voluminous back eddy region.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of the Restinga de Cabedelo National Forest, Paraíba State, Brazil

Restinga forests are plant formations that occur on plains of quaternary sandy deposits along the Brazilian coast. Despite historical reduction of the Restinga forests, little effort has been made to know the butterfly fauna of these areas. This paper is an important contribution to the butterfly’s knowledge, being the second inventory in the Restinga forest of northeastern Brazil. The survey was conducted in the Restinga de Cabedelo National Forest (FLONA de Cabedelo, following the Portuguese abbreviation) and aimed to provide preliminary information on the butterflies richness in this region. A total of 89 butterfly species and 1,503 individuals were recorded at FLONA de Cabedelo. Hesperiidae was the richest family (34 species), followed by Nymphalidae (33) Pieridae (eight), Lycaenidae (seven), Riodinidae (five), and Papilionidae (two). In general, the butterfly fauna of the FLONA de Cabedelo is dominated by species widely distributed and commonly found in open or forested areas in Brazil. Five species are new records in Paraíba state: Calydna sturnula (Geyer), Theope foliorum (Bates), Cogia hassan (Butler), Vehilius inca (Scudder), and Chiothion asychis (Stoll). We suggest carrying out monthly samplings which will certainly increase the list of species herein presented.

Plesiochorus cymbiformis (Rudolphi, 1819) Looss, 1901 (Digenea: Gorgoderidae) in Olive Ridley Sea turtles Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) (Testudines: Chelonidae) from the Brazilian coast: New geographic occurrence and associated injuries

Summary The present study reports the first occurrence of Plesiochorus cymbiformis (Digenea: Gorgoderidae), in two Olive Ridley Sea turtles Lepidochelys olivacea (Testudines: Chelonidae), from the states of São Paulo and Sergipe in Brazilian coast. Concerning the Neotropical region, P. cymbiformis has been previously reported in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Panama and Brazil, in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Brazil, in hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) from Puerto Rico, and in Olive Ridley Sea turtles only in Costa Rica. Lesions resulting from the presence of parasites in the hosts’ urinary bladders are also presented. This is the second report on endoparasites in Olive Ridley sea turtles from Brazil.

Helminth infection and human mobility in sambaquis: Paleoparasitological, paleogenetic, and microremains investigations in Jabuticabeira II, Brazil (2890 ± 55 to 1805 ± 65 BP)

Sambaquis or shellmounds are archeological sites constructed by hunter-fisher-gatherers that inhabited the Brazilian coast about 10,000–2000 yrs BP. Jabuticabeira II (JABII: 2890 ± 55 to 1805 ± 65 BP) is one of dozens of contemporaneous sambaquis of the Santa Catarina state, South Brazil, and contains hundreds of neatly organized burials, indicating great population density. In order to gather information about the health, diet and way of life of people in JABII, a paleoparasitological, paleogenetic, and micro-human remains investigation was carried out. Pelvic region and environmental control samples from six individuals exhumed from JABII were submitted to microscopic and ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation. Paleoparasitological analyses based on light microscopy were negative. However, a variety of informative microremains were found. Diatoms, fish scales, and algae characterize the marine and estuarine environment. Ipomoea batatas and Zea mays starch grains suggested cultivated items as part of their diet in agreement with the literature. The finding of Podocarpus sp. pollen grain, characteristic of highlander vegetation, suggests human mobility of JABII individuals which were settlement in the coast. Paleogenetic analyses showed Ascaris sp. helminth infection based on nad1 gene fragment detected from an individual excavated at L3 FS7 burial (1826 ± 40 BP). This aDNA result places the antiquity of Ascaris sp. infection, and haplotypes that are circulating in humans and other animals nowadays, in Pre-Columbian South American times.