Biodiversity and functioning of a subtropical coastal ecosystem: a contribution to integrated management

Abstract

The coastal region has been subject to pressures of different origins, types, and magnitudes, which compromise environmental services and lessen the quality of life for the population that depends directly or indirectly on coastal resources. The aim of coastal management is to integrate economic, social, and environmental interests, and to seek regional sustainability. However, decision-making is necessarily based on a full and at the same time profound understanding of the system to be managed, as prescribed by Agenda 21, integrating existing knowledge of the Brazilian coast. In this context, this project has the objective of carrying out an investigation that is effectively integrated and guided by this requirement to understand how a coastal region functions in systemic terms, considering physical, biological, and social processes, such as circulation, sediment transport, tropic interactions, matter and energy flows, and fisheries production and dynamics, among other subjects. In addition, this study will characterize the services contributed by this environment, including economic and non-economic services as well as direct and indirect ones, with emphasis on those derived from marine biodiversity; and will also evaluate the socioeconomic importance of the region. Finally, the intention is to develop, in a participatory manner, proposals for action with a view toward maintaining the sustainability of the region. As a strategy for its execution, this project will consider Araçá Bay as a model for the study, with future applications to other regions. Simultaneous gathering and analysis of these data, according to the type of habitat, will allow this region to be investigated from a unified viewpoint, that is, to examine issues related to the present state of the area and its ecological, social, economic, and political importance, thus permitting a dialogue between science and decision-makers. The complexity of the subject requires, therefore, that the project be structured in study modules: 1- Plankton System; 2- Nekton System; 3- Benthic System; 4- Mangrove System; 5- Hydrodynamics; 6- Sediment Dynamics; 7- Tropic Interactions; 8- Fisheries Assessment; 9- Identification and Valuation of Ecosystem Services; 10- Integrated Management; and 11- Ecological Modeling. This proposal also constitutes an initiative to integrate different areas of knowledge, investigators, and educational and research institutions, in a strategy for the development of human resources, generation of new knowledge, and broadening capabilities within the State of Sao Paulo for studies in the areas of biodiversity, conservation, and management of marine resources. (AU)