Distribution of organisms in a vertical gradient of emergence/desiccation on the rocky coast of the Sustainable Development Reserve, Barra do Una Beach, Juréia-Itatins, Peruíbe-SP Maria das Graças Freitas dos Santos, Henrique Rocha de Souza, Larissa Valente, Lucymara Silva Ponce Alonso, Marcos de Camargo

Abstract

Rocky coast is the name given to the coastal environment consisting of residual volcanic rocks located between aquatic and terrestrial environments. Scholars consider it an extension of the marine environment because it contains a diversity of organisms originating from the sea. The accumulation of fragmented rocks forms large walls directly impacted by the influence of the tides. In this study, data were collected on the rocky coast located at Praia da Barra do Una in the Juréia-Itatins Mosaic Sustainable Development Reserve, municipality of Peruíbe/SP, on June 17, 2017. To identify the wealth of life found on the rocky coast, the study area was delimited into 5 (five) juxtaposed rectangular strips of 10 m wide and approximately 50 m long, arranged in a vertical line in relation to the sea, covering the zones of: infracoastal, midcoastal and supracoastal up to the beginning of the trail. A total of 15 regions were sampled in approximately 2,500 m² of investigated area. Each of these regions was photographed and the organisms in each were subsequently identified. For each region, the diversity and dominance indices were calculated using the PAST program, and hierarchical clustering analyses were performed to verify the similarity between them.