Global warming assessment suggests the endemic Brazilian kelp beds to be an endangered ecosystem.

Kelps are canopy-forming brown seaweed sustaining critical ecosystem services in coastal habitats, including shelter, nursery grounds, and providing food resources to a myriad of associated species. This study modeled the fundamental niche of Laminaria abyssalis along the Brazilian continental margin, an endemic species of the South Atlantic, to anticipate potential distributional range shifts under two contrasting scenarios of future environmental changes (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). The model for fundamental niche predictions considering the "present scenario" has shown a wider potential area than the realized niche (i.e., the area where the species actually occurs) along the Brazilian coast. In both future scenarios, the models have shown niche erosion on the northern portion of the Brazilian coast and niche gains towards the south. In both scenarios, L. abyssalis populations tend to shift to deeper regions of the reef. The restricted range of occurrence (33,000 km2), intense anthropic activities along these beds (e.g., trawling fisheries, oil/gas mining, or removal for agricultural purposes) acting synergically with global warming, may drive this ecosystem to collapse faster than kelp species' ability to adapt. We propose to classify L. abyssalis as Endangered - (EN) under IUCN criteria, and highlight that long-term monitoring of kelp beds is an urgent need to develop effective conservation initiatives to protect such rare and invaluable ecosystem.

Can severe drought periods increase metal concentrations in mangrove sediments? A case study in eastern Brazil.

Mangrove ecosystems are essential to society, providing ecological and economic services, and play a crucial role in the geochemical land-ocean interface as a sink for potentially toxic metals. This study assessed metals (Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn) and arsenic in sediments from three mangrove zones (Tidal Flat, Rhizophora mangle L. and Avicennia schaueriana Stapf & Leechman ex Moldenke forests) during two seasons: spring of 2015 and autumn of 2016, with the latter being a severe drought year. Overall results suggest that Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides and clay minerals control the distribution of metal and arsenic in the Tidal Flat zone. In the mangrove forest however, sulfur and organic matter dominate complexation, with Fe mainly present as insoluble sulfide, and As, Cd, Cu and Zn as metal sulfides or organometallic complexes. In the autumn of 2016, all elements except Cd and Pb had lower concentrations compared to the spring of 2015. Cd and Pb were probably transferred from sources other than mangrove sediments, due to increased saline water intrusion, a consequence of reduced riverine flow, and precipitated in the Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia schaueriana mangrove forests. This increase of Cd and Pb in the mangrove forest suggests potential storage of metal contaminants in the organic rich areas, a change in availability and potential toxicity to fauna and flora and a need for regulatory responses to sediment quality. These results indicate a change in sediment metal contaminant dynamics with the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events - an increased risk to the ecosystem.