Abstract

Marine ecosystems play fundamental economic and social roles providing valuable services for coastal regions. How-ever, coastal development, human population expansion, overfishing and predatory tourism are among the anthropic pres-sures that have been affecting marine biodiversity, mainly fish species that play critical parts in reef functioning and maintenance. Therefore, the current study presents data on the composition, abundance and distribution of reef fishes from the rocky reefs of Armação dos Búzios (22º44´S & 41º 52´O), the fifth most visited touristic destination in Brazil. We per-formed replicated visual census (n =173/40m2) in the Summer of 2016, in 11 sites in the N/NE coast of the peninsula. We registered a total of 1332 individuals, belonging to 34 families and 75 species. Species richness (n = 44) and abundance (n = 232) were significantly greater in sites with lower environmental pressure indexes and greater food availability (João Fer-nandinho beach and Azedinha). Low species diversity and low top predator abundance of reef fishes were observed in all sites sampled. Moreover, species typically searched by the aquarium trade were not registered, suggesting a greater fishing and capture pressure over these species. Our results point the need of management actions, aiming a sustainable model that meets the socioeconomic demand of the region and also promotes marine conservation.

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