Ecosystem services provided by coral reefs in a Southwestern Atlantic Archipelago

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities. The Archipelago of Tinharé and Boipeba, Bahia, Brazil, are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs, which have undergone several chronic human impacts. The objective of the present study was to apply an ecosystem-based approach by analyzing the ecosystem services provided by the coral reefs of the Archipelago of Tinharé and Boipeba in order to support management actions and serve as a tool for coastal management. Ecosystem services were assessed through the observation of environmental indicators of their occurrence and by using a suite of models from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) software combined with data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol database. The services of greatest occurrence were food provision, habitat maintenance, shoreline protection and recreation. While the main stressful factors were tourism activities, the absence of a sewage system and fisheries. The coral reefs presented potential for shoreline protection along 50.5% of the islands. Moreover, 46.8% of the shoreline would present moderate to high vulnerability in case of coral reef disappearance. The coincidence of areas with high risk of loss in the capacity to provide services and high vulnerability in the scenario of absence of reefs is concerning. Thus, the current model for tourism used in the area should be altered, as should new management strategies be implemented, which can bring benefits and avoid reef decline.