Photo: João Paulo Krajewski/LECAR

Rocky shores are a transition zone between land and marine environments, and tend to be extremely rich in marine biodiversity.

The initiative “The Rocky Shore Project: Ecology, Impacts and Conservation of the Dos Lagos and Rio North Shore Regions” conducts scientific research in these two zones of Rio de Janeiro state’s northern coastline. The Project will involve a wide range of specialists conducting complementary, inter-disciplinary studies on the biodiversity, ecology, and impacts of rocky shores, a sadly understudied ecosystem in Brazil.

Among the main aims of the endeavor, spearheaded by the Coordination Foundation for Projects, Research and Technological Studies, are to evaluate the biodiversity of seaweed, zooplankton, invertebrates, fish and seabirds present along the rocky shores of Macaé, Rio das Ostras and Armação dos Búzios; study population and reproduction dynamics and trophic ecology of the fish species found in tidal pools; analyze the impacts of human activities; and develop environmental education drives that integrate the local population and scientific community behind the effort to conserve the state’s rocky shores.