Lessons from the invasion front: Integration of research and management of the lionfish invasion in Brazil.

After successful invasions in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, lionfish (Pterois spp.) have recently invaded another important biogeographical region -the Brazilian Province. In this article, we discuss this new invasion, focusing on a roadmap for urgent mitigation of the problem, as well as focused research and management strategies. The invasion in Brazil is already in the consolidation stage, with 352 individuals recorded so far (2020-2023) along 2766 km of coastline. This includes both juveniles and adults, including egg-bearing females, ranging in length from 9.1 to 38.5 cm. Until now, most of the records in the Brazilian coast occurred in the equatorial southwestern Atlantic (99%), mainly on the Amazon mesophotic reefs (15% of the records), northeastern coast of Brazil (45%), and the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (41%; an UNESCO World Heritage Site with high endemism rate). These records cover a broad depth range (1-110 m depth), twelve protected areas, eight Brazilian states (Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, and Pernambuco) and multiple habitats (i.e., mangrove estuaries, shallow-water and mesophotic reefs, seagrass beds, artificial reefs, and sandbanks), indicating a rapid and successful invasion process in Brazilian waters. In addition, the lack of local knowledge of rare and/or cryptic native species that are potentially vulnerable to lionfish predation raises concerns regarding the potential overlooked ecological impacts. Thus, we call for an urgent integrated approach with multiple stakeholders and solution-based ecological research, real-time inventories, update of environmental and fishery legislation, participatory monitoring supported by citizen science, and a national and unified plan aimed at decreasing the impact of lionfish invasion. The experience acquired by understanding the invasion process in the Caribbean and Mediterranean will help to establish and prioritize goals for Brazil.

Marine debris provide long-distance pathways for spreading invasive corals.

Anthropogenic marine debris and invasive species are pervasive in the ocean. However, research on the mechanisms and dynamics controlling their distribution in marine systems (e.g.; by floating debris acting as vectors for invasive species) is limited. Applying a numerical modeling approach, we demonstrate that rafting invasive corals (Tubastraea spp.) can be transported over long distances and reach important tropical receptor regions. In <180 days, buoyant debris can cover distances between 264 and 7170 km moving from the Brazilian semiarid coast to the Amazon coast and reaching eight regions in the Wider Caribbean (mainly the Eastern Caribbean and Greater Antilles). Analyzing 48 simulated scenarios (4 years × 3 depths × 4 months), we demonstrate that in ~86 % of the scenarios the particles are stranded in the Caribbean and in ~71 % they end up in the Amazon coast. Our results showed litter floating trajectories at 0-10 m water depth, transported every year to the Caribbean province. However, in August this transport is frequently blocked by the retroflection of the North Brazil Current adjacent to the Amazon River estuarine plume. Our results indicate routes for fast and long-distance transport of litter-rafting invasive species. We hypothesized a high risk of bioinvasion on important marine ecosystems (e.g., coral reefs) likely becoming increasingly threatened by these invasive species and debris. This highlights the imperative need for an ocean governance shift in prevention, control, and eradication, not only focused on local actions to prevent the spread of invasive species but also a broad international action to decrease and mitigate marine debris pollution globally.

Interconnected marine habitats form a single continental-scale reef system in South America.

Large gaps in reef distribution may hinder the dispersal of marine organisms, interrupting processes vital to the maintenance of biodiversity. Here we show the presence and location of extensive reef habitats on the continental shelf between the Amazon Reef System (ARS) and the Eastern Brazilian Reef System (ERS), two reef complexes off eastern South America. Formations located 20-50 m deep include both biogenic and geogenic structures. The presence of diverse reef assemblages suggests the widespread occurrence of rocky substrates below 50 m. These habitats represent an expansion of both the ARS and ERS and the closure of the only remaining large-scale gap (~ 1000 km) among West Atlantic reef environments. This indicates that the SW Atlantic harbors a single, yet heterogeneous, reef system that stretches for about 4000 km, and thus, represents one of the largest semi-continuous tropical marine ecosystems in the world.