Changes or disappearance of the Atlantic goliath grouper <i>Epinephelus itajara</i> (Perciformes: Epinephelidae) spawning aggregation sites in southern Brazil

Bueno, Leonardo Schlogel; Freitas, Matheus Oliveira; Bertoncini, Áthila Andrade; Koenig, Christopher Carl; Adelir-Alves, Johnatas; Leite, Jonas Rodrigues; Daros, Felipe Alexandre de Lisboa Miranda; Hostim-Silva, Maurício

doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2024-0067

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Original Article • Neotrop. ichthyol. 23 (2) • 2025 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0224-2024-0067 linkcopy

Changes or disappearance of the Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara (Perciformes: Epinephelidae) spawning aggregation sites in southern Brazil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Atlantic goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) form spawning aggregations, each with around 100 individuals. However no studies have been carried out comparing these aggregations in natural and artificial environments. In this article we determine patterns in aggregation abundance by observations we made between 2007 and 2014 on three natural and four artificial reefs in southern Brazil by comparing sightings-per-unit-effort (SPUE) among these reefs. Their abundance differed significantly among artificial and natural reefs. No aggregations were observed on natural reefs, however aggregations up to 54 atlantic goliath groupers were observed on artificial reefs. This changed pattern of abundance may be due to fishing pressure and/or attraction to artificial reefs. We discuss the potential ecological effects of diminished abundance on natural reefs and increased abundance on artificial reefs.

Keywords:
Artificial reefs; Endangered species; Epinephelidae; Reef fish; South Atlantic

Authorship

person Leonardo Schlogel Bueno

Conceptualization · Investigation · Methodology · Writing-original draft · Writing-review and editing

0000-0003-1874-6030

person Matheus Oliveira Freitas

Investigation · Methodology · Writing-review and editing

0000-0003-0122-0980

person Áthila Andrade Bertoncini

Investigation · Writing-review and editing

schoolInstituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.Instituto Meros do BrasilBrazilCuritiba, PR, BrazilInstituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.schoolPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rua Eng. Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, s/n, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. (AAB) athilapeixe@gmail.com.Universidade Federal de Santa CatarinaBrazilFlorianópolis, SC, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rua Eng. Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, s/n, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. (AAB) athilapeixe@gmail.com.

0000-0002-6310-0127

person Christopher Carl Koenig

Conceptualization · Supervision · Writing-review and editing

schoolFlorida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory, 3618, Coastal Highway, 98, St. Theresa, 32358, FL, USA. (CCK) ckoenig@fsu.edu.Florida State University Coastal & Marine LaboratoryUSASt. Theresa, FL, USAFlorida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory, 3618, Coastal Highway, 98, St. Theresa, 32358, FL, USA. (CCK) ckoenig@fsu.edu.

0000-0002-2592-7975

person Johnatas Adelir-Alves

Investigation · Methodology · Writing-review and editing

0000-0002-8882-4009

person Jonas Rodrigues Leite

Investigation · Project administration · Writing-review and editing

0000-0002-6526-9911

person Felipe Alexandre de Lisboa Miranda Daros

Investigation · Writing-review and editing

schoolUniversidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Campus de Registro, Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupy, 11900-000 Registro, SP, Brazil. (FALMD) felippe.daros@unesp.br.Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESPBrazilRegistro, SP, BrazilUniversidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Campus de Registro, Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupy, 11900-000 Registro, SP, Brazil. (FALMD) felippe.daros@unesp.br.

0000-0003-4848-5169

person Maurício Hostim-Silva

Project administration · Supervision

schoolInstituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.Instituto Meros do BrasilBrazilCuritiba, PR, BrazilInstituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.schoolLaboratório de Ecologia de Peixes Marinhos, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, CEUNES, BR-101, km 60, 29932-540 São Mateus, ES, Brazil. (MHS) mhostim@gmail.com.Universidade Federal do Espírito SantoBrazilSão Mateus, ES, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia de Peixes Marinhos, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, CEUNES, BR-101, km 60, 29932-540 São Mateus, ES, Brazil. (MHS) mhostim@gmail.com.

0000-0001-5061-9125

Associate Editor:

Osmar Luiz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6995-6524

Section Editor:

Osmar Luiz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6995-6524

Editor-in-chief:

Carla Simone Pavanelli https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4059-984X

Correspondence

Leonardo Schlogel Bueno lecomeros@gmail.com

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Instituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.Instituto Meros do BrasilBrazilCuritiba, PR, BrazilInstituto Meros do Brasil, Rua Benjamin Constant, 67, Centro, 80060-020 Curitiba, PR, Brazil. (LSB) lecomeros@gmail.com (corresponding author), (MOF) serranidae@gmail.com, (JAA) johnatas_alves@yahoo.com, (JRL) jonasipaq@yahoo.com.br.

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rua Eng. Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, s/n, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. (AAB) athilapeixe@gmail.com.Universidade Federal de Santa CatarinaBrazilFlorianópolis, SC, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rua Eng. Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, s/n, Trindade, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. (AAB) athilapeixe@gmail.com.

Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory, 3618, Coastal Highway, 98, St. Theresa, 32358, FL, USA. (CCK) ckoenig@fsu.edu.Florida State University Coastal & Marine LaboratoryUSASt. Theresa, FL, USAFlorida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory, 3618, Coastal Highway, 98, St. Theresa, 32358, FL, USA. (CCK) ckoenig@fsu.edu.

Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Campus de Registro, Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupy, 11900-000 Registro, SP, Brazil. (FALMD) felippe.daros@unesp.br.Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESPBrazilRegistro, SP, BrazilUniversidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Campus de Registro, Av. Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupy, 11900-000 Registro, SP, Brazil. (FALMD) felippe.daros@unesp.br.

Laboratório de Ecologia de Peixes Marinhos, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, CEUNES, BR-101, km 60, 29932-540 São Mateus, ES, Brazil. (MHS) mhostim@gmail.com.Universidade Federal do Espírito SantoBrazilSão Mateus, ES, BrazilLaboratório de Ecologia de Peixes Marinhos, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, CEUNES, BR-101, km 60, 29932-540 São Mateus, ES, Brazil. (MHS) mhostim@gmail.com.

Figures | Tables

Figures (6)
Tables (2)

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FIGURE 1 | Study areas in southern Brazil in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, between25o and 27o S latitude in the Western Atlantic. Four artificial reefs Balsa Norte (BN), Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), Balsa Sul (BS), and Monobóia (MB). Three natural reefs: Arquipélago das Graças (AG), Tamboretes (TA), and Laje dos Lobos outcrops (LL).

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FIGURE 2 | Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara on artificial reefs in southern Brazil. A. Using the bottom structure under the Monobóia (MB); B. Seeking shelter in a quadrilateral-shape artificial reef on Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM). Photos by Leonardo S. Bueno.

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FIGURE 3 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances by sampled sites: Artificial reefs (Monobóia (MB), N = 52; Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), N = 62; Balsa Norte (BN), N = 30; Balsa Sul (BS), N = 16) and natural rock reefs (Tamboretes (TA), N = 65; Arquipélago das Graças (AG), N = 40; Laje dos Lobos (LL), N = 51) in southern Brazil. RDT data pooled from 2007 to 2014. Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median, white box = mean values.

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FIGURE 4 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances by season in all sampled sites in southern Brazil divided into artificial reef group in purple (Monobóia, RAM, Balsa Norte, and Balsa Sul) (Spring N = 27; Summer N = 85; Fall N = 35; Winter N = 13) and natural reef group in teal (Tamboretes, Arquipélago das Graças, and Laje dos Lobos) (Spring N = 37; Summer N = 51; Fall N = 58; Winter N = 10), pooled years 2007 to 2014. Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median.

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FIGURE 5 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances in southern Brazil from 2007–2014 in all sampled sites divided into artificial reefs in purple (Monobóia, Recifes Artificiais Marinhos, Balsa Norte, and Balsa Sul) and natural reefs in teal (Tamboretes, Arquipélago das Graças, and Laje dos Lobos). Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median.

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FIGURE 6 | Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundance on southern Brazil study sites displayed in a similarity cluster diagram. Balsa Norte (BN); Balsa Sul (BS); Monobóia (MB); Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM); Tamboretes (TA); Arquipélago das Graças (AG); Laje dos Lobos (LL). Triangles () represent artificial reefs and diamonds (♦) represent natural reefs. Horizontal line defined at 67 % of similarity.

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TABLE 1 | Sightings-per-unit-effort SPUE for Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara on artificial reefs: Monobóia (MB), Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), Balsa Norte (BN), and Balsa Sul (BS), and natural reefs: Tamboretes (TA), Arquipélago das Graças (AG), and Laje dos Lobos (LL), in southern Brazil. Samples (spring/summer/fall/winter in brackets, respectively) number of dive surveys; Max, maximum abundance of Atlantic Goliath Grouper; Mean,mean abundance; SD, standard deviation; frequencyofoccurrence(%); unit effort = 30 min survey.

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TABLE 2 | Multiple comparison using data on Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundance presenting p-value for the studied sites: Monobóia (MB); Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM); Balsa Norte (BN); Balsa Sul (BS); Tamboretes (TA); Arquipélago das Graças (AG); Laje dos Lobos (LL). Sites are distributed according to reef types artificial or natural. Kruskal-Wallis test: H (6, N = 316) = 206.2508; p = 0.000 (*Significant values).

imageFIGURE 1 | Study areas in southern Brazil in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, between25o and 27o S latitude in the Western Atlantic. Four artificial reefs Balsa Norte (BN), Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), Balsa Sul (BS), and Monobóia (MB). Three natural reefs: Arquipélago das Graças (AG), Tamboretes (TA), and Laje dos Lobos outcrops (LL). open_in_new

imageFIGURE 2 | Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara on artificial reefs in southern Brazil. A. Using the bottom structure under the Monobóia (MB); B. Seeking shelter in a quadrilateral-shape artificial reef on Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM). Photos by Leonardo S. Bueno. open_in_new

imageFIGURE 3 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances by sampled sites: Artificial reefs (Monobóia (MB), N = 52; Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), N = 62; Balsa Norte (BN), N = 30; Balsa Sul (BS), N = 16) and natural rock reefs (Tamboretes (TA), N = 65; Arquipélago das Graças (AG), N = 40; Laje dos Lobos (LL), N = 51) in southern Brazil. RDT data pooled from 2007 to 2014. Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median, white box = mean values. open_in_new

imageFIGURE 4 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances by season in all sampled sites in southern Brazil divided into artificial reef group in purple (Monobóia, RAM, Balsa Norte, and Balsa Sul) (Spring N = 27; Summer N = 85; Fall N = 35; Winter N = 13) and natural reef group in teal (Tamboretes, Arquipélago das Graças, and Laje dos Lobos) (Spring N = 37; Summer N = 51; Fall N = 58; Winter N = 10), pooled years 2007 to 2014. Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median. open_in_new

imageFIGURE 5 | Boxplots of Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundances in southern Brazil from 2007–2014 in all sampled sites divided into artificial reefs in purple (Monobóia, Recifes Artificiais Marinhos, Balsa Norte, and Balsa Sul) and natural reefs in teal (Tamboretes, Arquipélago das Graças, and Laje dos Lobos). Black dots = outliers, horizontal line in box = median. open_in_new

imageFIGURE 6 | Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundance on southern Brazil study sites displayed in a similarity cluster diagram. Balsa Norte (BN); Balsa Sul (BS); Monobóia (MB); Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM); Tamboretes (TA); Arquipélago das Graças (AG); Laje dos Lobos (LL). Triangles () represent artificial reefs and diamonds (♦) represent natural reefs. Horizontal line defined at 67 % of similarity. open_in_new

table_chartTABLE 1 | Sightings-per-unit-effort SPUE for Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara on artificial reefs: Monobóia (MB), Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM), Balsa Norte (BN), and Balsa Sul (BS), and natural reefs: Tamboretes (TA), Arquipélago das Graças (AG), and Laje dos Lobos (LL), in southern Brazil. Samples (spring/summer/fall/winter in brackets, respectively) number of dive surveys; Max, maximum abundance of Atlantic Goliath Grouper; Mean,mean abundance; SD, standard deviation; frequencyofoccurrence(%); unit effort = 30 min survey.

Sites/Reef type	Samples	Max	Mean	SD (±)	%
Artificial reefs
MB	52 [19/27/02/04]	54	12.55	0.88	96
RAM	62 [05/34/19/04]	32	7.73	10.18	74
BN	30 [01/18/08/03]	30	4.73	5.07	100
BS	16 [02/06/06/02]	10	4.09	3.21	63
Sub-total	160 [27/85/37/13]	54	8.37	9.67	88
Natural reefs
TA	65 [14/28/19/04]	2	0.26	0.60	22
AG	40 [09/16/13/02]	1	0.02	0.14	3
LL	51 [14/07/26/04]	2	0.06	0.32	4
Sub-total	156 [37/51/58/10]	2	0.14	0.45	11
Total	316 [64/136/95/23]	54	4.54	8.25	64

table_chartTABLE 2 | Multiple comparison using data on Atlantic goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara abundance presenting p-value for the studied sites: Monobóia (MB); Recifes Artificiais Marinhos (RAM); Balsa Norte (BN); Balsa Sul (BS); Tamboretes (TA); Arquipélago das Graças (AG); Laje dos Lobos (LL). Sites are distributed according to reef types artificial or natural. Kruskal-Wallis test: H (6, N = 316) = 206.2508; p = 0.000 (*Significant values).

Groups	Sites	MB	RAM	BN	BS	TA	AG	LL
Artificial	MB		0.0091*	1.0000	1.0000	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*
	RAM	0.0091*		1.0000	1.0000	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*
	BN	1.0000	1.0000		1.0000	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*
	BS	1.0000	1.0000	1.0000		0.0023*	0.0003*	0.0002*
Natural	TA	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	0.0023*		1.0000	1.0000
	AG	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	0.0003*	1.0000		1.0000
	LL	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	< 0.001*	0.0002*	1.0000	1.0000

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