Resumo Neste estudo levantamos e analisamos 300 projetos relacionados à biodiversidade marinha financiados pela FAPESP entre 1972 a 2021, dos quais 46 foram realizados no Programa BIOTA. De um projeto único na década de 1970, o número foi aumentando gradativamente até 2009, quando o BIOTA promoveu uma chamada sobre biodiversidade marinha, o que impulsionou o número de projetos financiados nos anos seguintes. A abrangência geográfica dos projetos se expandiu ao longo dos anos e, a partir de estudos baseados no litoral do Estado de São Paulo, o foco gradualmente se deslocou para áreas mais amplas da costa brasileira, depois para outras áreas do Atlântico, e acabou se tornando global. A maioria dos projetos se concentrou em organismos costeiros, bentônicos, em substrato consolidado. Em termos de táxons, seis grupos responderam por cerca de 60% dos projetos (Crustacea, Actinopterygii, Mollusca, Chondrichthyes, Cnidaria e Rhodophyta), mas observa-se um aumento no número de grupos estudados ao longo das décadas. Os 300 projetos referem-se a um conjunto de 82 temas diferentes, dos quais os cinco principais são taxonomia, filogenia, comunidade, “ômicas” e poluição. As análises mostram um esforço de longa data em pesquisas de biodiversidade marinha, com abordagens atualizadas em relação ao escopo e métodos. A pesquisa em áreas estratégicas é discutida, incluindo os estudos sobre a microbiota marinha e em águas profundas. As mudanças climáticas e a crescente pressão da atividade humana sobre o oceano, incluindo poluição, acidificação e espécies invasoras, estão entre os principais desafios para o futuro. Projetos de produção e uso de dados de pesquisa básica de forma integrada e transdisciplinar oferecem múltiplas perspectivas de compreensão das mudanças no funcionamento dos ecossistemas e, consequentemente, são essenciais para subsidiar políticas públicas de conservação e uso sustentável da biodiversidade marinha em diferentes escalas. A Década do Oceano da UNESCO (a partir de 2021) é uma janela de oportunidade para fortalecer a pesquisa marinha, promover a colaboração nacional e internacional, construir redes envolvendo os setores público e privado, mas principalmente para chamar a atenção da sociedade para a importância de conhecer os ambientes marinhos e utilizar os recursos oceânicos de forma sustentável. O avanço da “alfabetização” oceânica é um dos principais legados para as gerações futuras promovidos por programas integrados de pesquisa como o BIOTA-FAPESP.

Abstract In this study we survey and analyze 300 projects related to marine biodiversity funded by FAPESP from 1972 to 2021, of which 46 were nested in the BIOTA Program. From a unique project in the 1970’s, the number gradually increased until 2009, when BIOTA promoted a call on marine biodiversity, which led to a boost in the number of funded projects in the subsequent years. The geographical range of the projects expanded over the years and, from studies based on the coast of São Paulo State, the focus gradually shifted to broader areas of the Brazilian coast, then to other areas of the Atlantic, and eventually became global. The majority of projects focused on coastal benthic organisms living on hard-bottom. In terms of taxa, six groups accounted for about 60% of the projects (viz. Crustacea, Actinopterygii, Mollusca, Chondrichthyes, Cnidaria, and Rhodophyta), but it is observed an increase in the number of groups studied over the decades. The 300 projects refer to a set of 82 different topics, of which the top five are taxonomy, phylogeny, community, “omics”, and pollution. The analyses show a long-standing effort in marine biodiversity surveys, with ongoing updated approaches regarding scope and methods. Research on strategic areas is discussed, including deep-sea and marine microbiota. Climate change and the increasing pressure of human activity on the ocean, including pollution, acidification and invasive species, are among the main challenges for the future. Projects producing and using basic research data in an integrative and transdisciplinary way offer multiple perspectives in understanding changes in ecosystem functioning and, consequently, are essential to support public policies for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity at different scales. UNESCO’s Decade of Ocean (starting 2021) is a window of opportunity to strengthen marine research, to promote national and international collaboration, to build up networks involving the public and private sector, but particularly to draw society’s attention to the importance of knowing marine environments and using ocean resources in a sustainable way. The advancement of ocean literacy is one of the main legacies for future generations promoted by integrated research programs such as BIOTA-FAPESP.

Abstract Fiddler crabs are important components of intertidal benthic macrofauna in estuarine habitats. However, these invertebrates often inhabit areas under anthropogenic-driven changes. In this study, we evaluated the habitat quality and the population biology of the fiddler crab Uca maracoani (Latreille, 1802) in a mangrove area under anthropogenic influence, on the southern coast of São Paulo state, Brazil. Sediment samples for ecotoxicological analyses and data on the population biology of U. maracoani were collected monthly between October 2008 and October 2009. Contamination was observed in sediment samples from all months, indicating that benthic organisms inhabiting the study area are continuously exposed to toxicity. The sex ratio did not deviate from 1:1 for the whole population of U. maracoani, within any given month (except in October 2008, when males outnumbered females). Adult males and females showed a similar size, while juvenile females were larger than juvenile males, probably reflecting that females attained sexual maturity at a larger size than males. For both juvenile and adult stages, the major cheliped propodus length and height in males and the abdomen width in females showed positive allometry. The size-frequency distribution of the studied population varied from unimodal to bimodal. Juveniles were recorded in all months, suggesting the studied population has continuous recruitment. In contrast, ovigerous females were not found in the study area for several months. Although U. maracoani is continuously exposed to contamination present in the sediment, it presents a well-established population and seems to persist in the study area.

Abstract Seaweed aggregates form secondary substrates on rocky shores, providing habitats for phytal organisms such as the spider crab Epialtus brasiliensis Dana, 1852. This species is one of the most abundant macroinvertebrate component from seaweed communities. Although the literature suggests that E. brasiliensis lives in many species of seaweed, their density has only been reported in communities of Sargassum spp. This study assessed the density of the spider crab E. brasiliensis associated with the seaweed Sargassum cymosum Agardh, 1820, Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen) Lamouroux and Acanthophora spicifera (Vahl) Borgesen. We expected to observe a higher density of E. brasiliensis in S. cymosum, which shows greater morphological complexity, followed by H. musciformis, with intermediate complexity, and then by A. spicifera, with low complexity. We found that the density of these crabs can be as abundant in H. musciformis as has been previously reported for S. cymosum, but in both species, the density was higher than in A. spicifera. Overall, our findings improve the knowledge of the phytal habitats used by E. brasiliensis in rocky shore environments.

Resumo O plâncton marinho costeiro é uma peça fundamental no funcionamento do ecossistema, conectando os ambientes pelágico e bentônico em fluxos de material e energia. A dinâmica dos organismos planctônicos, ou seja, suas composições e abundâncias no tempo e espaço, é uma ferramenta importante para práticas de conservação e manejo. Em quatro ocasiões entre 2013 e 2015, amostragens discretas de plâncton foram realizadas em dez pontos em e ao redor do PEMLS, com o objetivo de identificar grupos importantes e estabelecer protocolos para monitoramento a longo prazo. Foram encontrados 90 táxons zooplanctônicos, sendo copépodes e cladóceros os grupos dominantes, como esperado. A biomassa, mortalidade e composição taxonômica do zooplâncton variaram entre os locais e entre as amostragens. As concentrações de clorofila-a superficial também variaram espaço-temporalmente e ilustram a limitação de amostragens discretas para algumas das variáveis testadas. Os resultados sugerem um protocolo de monitoramento do plâncton do PEMLS baseado na biomassa e mortalidade do zooplâncton. Já a biomassa do fitoplâncton pode ser estimada por análises in vivo de amostras de água do mar e imagens de satélite.

Abstract The coastal marine plankton plays a major role in ecosystem functioning by linking pelagic and benthonic environments through energy fluxes. Understanding the dynamic of planktonic organisms is also crucial for conservation and management purposes. Plankton was sampled at ten sites in the waters of the PEMLS and the adjacent area, on four different occasions through 2013 and 2015 in order to identify key planktonic groups and protocols for long-term monitoring. Ninety taxa of zooplanktonic organisms were found with holoplanktonic copepods and cladocerans dominating samples. Zooplankton biomass, mortality and taxonomic composition varied both in space and time. Surface chlorophyll-a concentrations varied spatio-temporally. A protocol for monitoring the plankton of the waters in and adjacent to the PEMLS is suggested based on biomass and mortality of zooplankton and biomass of phytoplankton using periodically in situ calibrated ocean color satellite imagery.

ABSTRACT We investigated the infestation by Octolasmis lowei Darwin, 1851 in branchial chambers of the portunid Achelous spinimanus (Latreille, 1819), Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818), Callinectes danae Smith, 1869, and Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863. We evaluated how infestation is related to host maturity, molt stage, carapace width and sex. The infestation probability increases with host carapace width, and infested crabs were more likely to be adults in intermolt stage. Infestation prevalence did not differ between sexes, except for C. ornatus, in which females had higher infestation than males. Infestation intensity was higher for males than females in A. cribrarius and A. spinimanus, while C. ornatus showed an opposite pattern. Association of O. lowei with portunid seems to be tightly related to the biological traits of its host. Some of these traits, such as host size, maturity and molt stage, are likely to affect infestation in a similar way for all host species, while the effect of other traits, such as sex identity, seems to vary among hosts. We suggest a deeper understanding of the factors driving host use by generalist epibionts such as O. lowei depends on investigating their occurrence on a variety of potential hosts, as well as performing manipulative studies to evaluate the factors driving host preferences by this epibiont.

Fêmeas ovígeras de U. thayeri e de U. uruguayensis foram utilizadas para se avaliar e comparar o padrão reprodutivo. O tamanho médio das fêmeas foi de 6,6 ± 0,8mm para U. uruguayensis, variando de 17,3 ± 4,4mm para U. thayeri. A fecundidade média obtida para U. uruguayensis foi 1883 ± 490 ovos (N = 27) e para U. thayeri de 31068 ± 11185 ovos (N = 31). As diferenças observadas no padrão reprodutivo de U. thayeri e U. uruguayensis sugerem estratégias adaptativas: U. thayeri apresenta uma reprodução sazonal, com atividade pronunciada de janeiro a março e alta fecundidade, enquanto U. uruguayensis reproduz-se continuamente, mas com proles menores.

Ovigerous females of Uca thayeri and U. uruguayensis were used to achieve and compare their reproductive pattern. The females mean size was 6.6 ± 0.8mm for U. uruguayensis and 17.3± 4.4mm for U. thayeri. The mean fecundity obtained for U. uruguayensis was 1883 ± 490 eggs (N = 27) and for U. thayeri was 31068 ± 11186 eggs (N = 31). The differences observed in reproductive pattern of U. thayeri and U. uruguayensis suggest an adaptive strategy by each species: U. thayeri presented seasonal reproduction with a pronounced intensity from January to March and higher fecundity, while U. uruguayensis reproduction was continuous all year round, but with lower fecundity.

Neste trabalho, as espécies C. danae e C. ornatus foram comparadas quanto ao peso dos quelípodos. Os siris foram coletados com 2 redes de arrasto do tipo "otter trawl" na Enseada de Ubatuba (23° 26' S e 45° 02' W). As constantes alométricas obtidas foram analisadas por meio da função potência (Y = aXb ). As espécies apresentaram diferentes graus alométricos para cada sexo. A relação PQ X PC apresentou alometria positiva em ambas espécies, porém os machos apresentam maior alometria positiva do que as fêmeas. C. danae apresenta maior alometria positiva para os quelípodos do que C. ornatus. O fato de C. danae atingir maior porte e possuir quelípodos maiores indica que esta espécie tem potencial para o cultivo.

A comparison of the cheliped's weight in two species of the genus Callinectes was accomplished. The species C. danae e C. ornatus were collected by two otter trawl in Ubatuba bay (23º 26' S and 45º 02' W). The allometric constants obtained from the regression adjusted to a power function (Y = aXb) were analyzed. These species presented different allometry degrees for each sex considered. The relation PQ x PC presented positive allometry for sex of both species, but male presented higher positive allometry than female. C. danae presented higher positive allometry for chelipeds than C. ornatus. We suggest here that C. danae could be indicated to be submitted to grow out in ponds since it reaches higher size and bigger chelipeds.