Publications by authors named "Hudson Tercio Pinheiro"
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on the spawning ecology of the damselfish Stegastes sanctipauli in the St Peter and St Paul's Archipelago, aiming to identify factors impacting reproductive success based on egg loss rates throughout the spawning season.
- Egg predation peaked near the last quarter moon, primarily due to the actions of the fish Halichoeres radiatus, with larger nests at higher egg densities facing greater predation.
- The findings indicate a balance between food availability for adult fish in shallow reefs and the high risk of egg predation, suggesting that the spawning behavior of S. sanctipauli is shaped by the need to optimize resources while minimizing threats to their offspring.
Group formation is a common behaviour among prey species. In egg-laying animals, despite the various factors that promote intra-clutch variation leading to asynchronous hatching and emergence from nests, synchronous hatching and emergence occurs in many taxa. This synchrony may be adaptive by reducing predation risk, but few data are available in any natural system, even for iconic examples of the anti-predator function of group formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is the empirically accumulated knowledge of local communities whose livelihoods depend directly on natural resources. TEK has a considerable potential as a reliable, rapid and low cost information source. However, its use for decision making in environmental management is frequently challenged due to the lack of scientific validation and the multiple and poorly understood biases deriving from measurement and analytical errors, as well as from political, cultural and religious sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTopics in artificial reef research have included a wide number of themes but a major portion of published works are about the attraction that artificial reefs exert over fishes that reside in natural reefs. In the present work, underwater visual censuses of fishes were conducted at both artificial and natural reefs, aiming at verifying whether fishes are attracted or and produced on artificial reefs. Length frequency, mean biomass and frequency of occurrence of four fish genera targeted by local fisheries (Caranx, Haemulon, Lutjanus and Mycteroperca) were compared between two artificial and two natural reefs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study assessed how degraded coastal habitats affect food availability for green turtles, finding that the area had low species richness.
- The analysis of stomach contents from 15 stranded turtles revealed a diet primarily consisting of green algae, particularly Ulva spp.
- The turtles showed a preference for certain types of algae, while avoiding others, suggesting that the environmental degradation may limit their dietary diversity and potentially impact their nutrition.