Abstract
-
Coral reefs around the world are facing serious
threats. These fragile ecosystems are in need for conservation. The coastal state of Bahia hosts the most extensive and
richest area of coral reefs in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Assessment, planning and management of coral reef ecosystems are particularly challenging tasks. This work shows
how the creation of a GIS improves the process of management, monitoring and conservation of the Bahian reef environments The initial data input started by the vectorization
of 1) bathymetric data from the Bureau of Hydrography and
Navigation (DHN), 2) shoreline and mangrove areas from
Landsat 7 ETM + images, 3) near surface reefs from
Quickbird images, and 4) coastal and marine protected areas
of federal, state and local administrations. Geological, physical, biological and social information was then included in
order to create a suitable marine GIS for conservation aims.
The data includes information on sediment granulometry
and transport patterns, rocky substrate outcrops, sea surface
temperature, wave direction, rain precipitation, major contributing river discharge, artisanal fishery, benthic cover and
bleaching data. ReefBahia GIS has provided essential information for a better understanding of coral reefs of the state
of Bahia geological and ecological characteristics such as
mapping, representation, connectivity and biodiversity of
coral reefs, geological facies, Quaternary sedimentation,
numeric modeling of wave refraction and monitoring of
bleaching events.