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Comparison of ichthyofaunal communities in Marine Protected Areas of Porto Santo (Madeira, Portugal)

Emanuel Almada1*, Nuno Vasco-Rodrigues1, Mafalda Freitas2 and Paulo Maranhão1
  • 1 Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, Politécnico de Leiria, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Portugal
  • 2 Estação de Biologia Marinha do Funchal, OOM - Funchal Marine Biology Station and MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Portugal

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly used as a tool to preserve biodiversity, manage fishing effort and facilitate recovery of degraded ecosystems. The island of Porto Santo is the second largest of Madeira’s archipelago (MA). Two MPAs were created in this island in 2008: a no-take area (Integral - Ilhéu de Cima), where all methods of fishing and extraction are not permitted and a partial area (Partial - Ilhéu de Baixo), where the sustainable use of natural resources is permitted. The objective of the work presented was to evaluate the ichthyofaunal community in areas with different levels of protection in Porto Santo. Four sampling points were selected in each of the two MPAs and four more sampling points in an unprotected area with the same characteristics (Control - Ilhéu de Ferro). Non-destructive methods, namely underwater visual census techniques using SCUBA gear (strip transect method), were used to assess the fish communities during 3 campaigns: May and September 2016 and May 2017. A total of 120 transects were performed during 60 dives at approximately 20 meters depths. Fish species richness, abundance, density and size were analyzed and compared between the three study areas. A total of 41 fish species belonging to 19 different families were observed. Three families were the most represented, Sparidae with 12 species, Carangidae and Labridae whith 4 species each, respectively. Sampling sites inside the “Integral” area (no-take) had higher density of fish and larger individuals. In the remaining two areas studied, specific diversity and abundance were lower, with the lowest values in the Control area (unprotected). The inexistence of data prior the creation of the MPA, makes impossible it to evaluate any possible changes that occurred in the fish communities post MPAs establishment, however this study provides a baseline for future research of Porto Santo’s fish communities.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to the Madeira Biology Station through Mafalda Freitas for logistics and support, the Natural Park of Madeira for the support of the vessel and its resources, to the center of Diving Porto Santo Sub, Paulo Maranhão for support and to Nuno Rodrigues for availability, photos and help in identifying species.

References

Araújo, R., Armando J. Almeida & Freitas, M. 2005. The impact of the oil spill of the tanker “Aragon” on the littoral fish fauna of Porto Santo (NE Atlantic Ocean) in 1991 and ten years later. Bocagiana; Museu Municipal do Funchal (História Natural) nº. 21.
Vasco-Rodrigues, N., Mendes, S., Franco, J., Castanheira, M., Castro, N., & Maranhão, P. (2011). Fish diversity in the Berlengas Natural Reserve (Portugal), a marine protected area. Ecologia 3: 37-46 .
Wirtz, P., R. Fricke & M. J. Biscoito. 2008. The coastal fishes of Madeira Island – new records and an annotated check-list. Zootaxa, 1715, 1-26.
Plano de Ordenamento e Gestão da Rede de Áreas Marinhas Protegidas do Porto Santo. (2010). Serviço do Parque Natural da Madeira; Estudo de base – caracterização da área PTPOR0001 – Ilhéus do Porto Santo.

Keywords: Porto Santo Island, Marine Protected Area, SCUBA, visual census, Fishing.

Conference: IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018, Peniche, Portugal, 5 Jul - 6 Jul, 2018.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Biodiversity, Conservation and Coastal Management

Citation: Almada E, Vasco-Rodrigues N, Freitas M and Maranhão P (2019). Comparison of ichthyofaunal communities in Marine Protected Areas of Porto Santo (Madeira, Portugal). Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR'18 | International Meeting on Marine Research 2018. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2018.06.00064

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Received: 06 May 2018; Published Online: 07 Jan 2019.

* Correspondence: Prof. Emanuel Almada, Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, Politécnico de Leiria, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Peniche, Portugal, emanueldealmada@hotmail.com