Marine RAP 38 Bra

The Marine RAP survey team assessed 45 sites over an 18-day period (11-28 February 2000), including 19 expert specialists from Brazilian universities, NGOs and the Brazilian Government. At each site, an underwater inventory was made of six faunal groups selected to serve as indicators of overall biodiversity. The faunel groups included corals, fishes, algae, polychaete worms, molluscs, and crustaceans (the last three groups were analyzed only on bottom-sediment samples). In addition to the species inventory, bottom-sediment samples were taken in the immediate vicinity of the reefs. Observations and data on reef fisheries were also gathered by a fisheries scientist who evaluated the abundance and size of the main target species at each site. Additionally, the knowledge about species occurrences from other papers, were compiled by specialists producing a more complete list of species for the region.