Modeling sensitive parrotfish (Labridae: Scarini) habitats along the Brazilian coast

In coral reef environments, there is an increasing concern over parrotfish (Labridae: Scarini) due to their rising exploitation by commercial small-scale fisheries, which is leading to significant changes in the reefs' community structure. Three species, Scarus trispinosus (Valenciennes, 1840), Sparisoma frondosum (Agassiz, 1831) and Sparisoma axillare (Steindachner, 1878), currently labeled as threatened, have been intensively targeted in Brazil, mostly on the northeastern coast. Despite their economic importance, ecological interest and worrisome conservation status, not much is known about which variables determine their occurrence. In this study, we adopted a hierarchical Bayesian spatial-temporal approach to map the distribution of these three species along the Brazilian coast, using landing data from three different gears (gillnets, spear guns, and handlines) and environmental variables (bathymetry, shore distance, seabed slope, Sea Surface Temperature and Net Primary Productivity). Our results identify sensitive habitats for parrotfish along the Brazilian coast that would be more suitable to the implementation of spatial-temporal closure measures, which along with the social component fishers could benefit the management and conservation of these species.