Bridging archaeology and marine conservation in the Neotropics (original) (raw)
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The Path towards Endangered Species: Prehistoric Fisheries in Southeastern Brazil
PLOS ONE, 2016
Brazilian shellmounds are archaeological sites with a high concentration of marine faunal remains. There are more than 2000 sites along the coast of Brazil that range in age from 8,720 to 985 cal BP. Here, we studied the ichthyoarchaeological remains (i.e., cranial/postcranial bones, otoliths, and teeth, among others) at 13 shellmounds on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which are located in coastal landscapes, including a sandy plain with coastal lagoons, rocky islands, islets and rocky bays. We identified patterns of similarity between shellmounds based on fish diversity, the ages of the assemblages, littoral geomorphology and prehistoric fisheries. Our new radiocarbon dating, based on otolith samples, was used for fishery characterization over time. A taxonomical study of the ichthyoarchaeological remains includes a diversity of 97 marine species, representing 37% of all modern species (i.e., 265 spp.) that have been documented along the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. This high fish diversity recovered from the shellmounds is clear evidence of well-developed prehistoric fishery activity that targeted sharks, rays and finfishes in a productive area influenced by coastal marine upwelling. The presence of adult and neonate shark, especially oceanic species, is here interpreted as evidence of prehistoric fisheries capacity for exploitation and possibly overexploitation in nursery areas. Various tools and strategies were used to capture finfish in seasonal fisheries, over rocky reef bottoms and in sandy littoral environments. Massive catches of whitemouth croaker, main target dermersal species of South Atlantic coast, show evidence of a reduction in body size of approximately 28% compared with modern fisheries. Fishery activity involving vulnerable species, especially in nursery areas, could mark the beginning of fish depletion along the southeastern Brazilian coast and the collapse of natural fish populations.
Pre‐Columbian fisheries catch reconstruction for a subtropical estuary in South America
Fish and Fisheries, 2019
Small‐scale fisheries provide food and livelihoods for thousands of people along the Brazilian coastline. However, considerable uncertainties still surround the extent to which artisanal and subsistence fisheries contribute to the total of national landings and their historical ecological significance. Fisheries monitoring is deficient in Brazil, and historical records are limited to irregular accounts spanning the last few decades, while this coastline has supported human populations for at least 6,000 years. Here, we estimate pre‐Columbian subsistence catches for a large subtropical estuary in southern Brazil. Our results suggest that prehistoric populations may have extracted volumes of fish biomass higher than or comparable with historical subsistence fisheries in the region, and that the latter is likely underestimated. If a long‐term perspective is required to evaluate the current economic value and status of fisheries in subtropical and tropical South America, this should go beyond the historical time interval and integrate the contribution of pre‐Columbian archaeology.
Pre-Columbian fisheries catch resconstruction for a subtropical estuary in South America
Fish and Fisheries, 2019
Small‐scale fisheries provide food and livelihoods for thousands of people along the Brazilian coastline. However, considerable uncertainties still surround the extent to which artisanal and subsistence fisheries contribute to the total of national landings and their historical ecological significance. Fisheries monitoring is deficient in Brazil, and historical records are limited to irregular accounts spanning the last few decades, while this coastline has supported human populations for at least 6,000 years. Here, we estimate pre‐Columbian subsistence catches for a large subtropical estuary in southern Brazil. Our results suggest that prehistoric populations may have extracted volumes of fish biomass higher than or comparable with historical subsistence fish‐ eries in the region, and that the latter is likely underestimated. If a long‐term per‐spective is required to evaluate the current economic value and status of fisheries in subtropical and tropical South America, this should go beyond the historical time interval and integrate the contribution of pre‐Columbian archaeology.
Integrating zooarchaeology in the conservation of coastal-marine ecosystems in Brazil
Quaternary International, 2019
Sambaquis are archaeological shell mounds and middens formed by pre-Columbian populations inhabiting the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil between the Middle and Late Holocene. Beyond their recognized cultural values, sambaquis are valuable biological archives for tracking changes in past biodiversity and informing modern conservation studies and management. In this contribution we reviewed the published record of faunal remains from archaeological sites located in Babitonga Bay, in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Through a literature review covering 110 sites, we assembled a comprehensive survey of terrestrial and marine taxa exploited by human groups in this area between ca. 5500 and 370 years ago. A total of 244 species were recorded, of which 14 are currently endangered and 12 are no longer present in Babitonga Bay. This zooarchaeological synthesis provides snapshots of past biodiversity, adding a novel contribution to current debates around the conservation biology of one of the world's most threatened tropical biomes.
An archaeological dimension expands the concept of biodiversity by generating long-term perspectives, combining multiple approaches and methodologies to enhance understanding of environmental changes. Aiming to investigate the patterns of biodiversity of marine mollusks over time, a comparison was made between three sets of archaeological sites (shellmounds) located in three geographic areas of the south-southeastern Brazilian coast. Sites dated between 1000-2000 and 4000-5000 yr BP were analyzed. A total of 37 bivalves and 26 gastropods were recorded. To describe the malacological community two indices of taxonomic diversity were used: average taxonomic distinctness and variation in taxonomic distinctness. The results showed a tendency of reduction in biodiversity patterns in the last 5000 years measured as average taxonomic distinctness. The observed reduction in biodiversity does not seem to be directly related to climate change over the period and there is a lack of data which could demonstrate any association between reduction in biodiversity and cultural causes such as preferences, technical level or food taboos of the prehistoric human populations. On the other hand, changes in sea level during this period are well documented and have been responsible for dramatic changes along the coast of this region. Therefore, it is likely that it could have affected local biodiversity and caused the observed pattern.
Scientific Reports, 2021
The emergence of plant-based economies have dominated evolutionary models of Middle and Late Holocene pre-Columbian societies in South America. Comparatively, the use of aquatic resources and the circumstances for intensifying their exploitation have received little attention. Here we reviewed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of 390 human individuals from Middle and Late Holocene coastal sambaquis, a long-lasting shell mound culture that flourished for nearly 7000 years along the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil. Using a newly generated faunal isotopic baseline and Bayesian Isotope Mixing Models we quantified the relative contribution of marine resources to the diet of some of these groups. Through the analysis of more than 400 radiocarbon dates we show that fishing sustained large and resilient populations during most of the Late Holocene. A sharp decline was observed in the frequency of sambaqui sites and radiocarbon dates from ca. 2200 years ago, possibly reflecting the dissolution of several nucleated groups into smaller social units, coinciding with substantial changes in coastal environments. The spread of ceramics from ca. 1200 years ago is marked by innovation and intensification of fishing practices, in a context of increasing social and ecological instability in the Late Holocene.
Historical Data in the CoastNet Geoportal: Documenting Fish Assemblages in Portuguese Estuaries
2021
Citation: França S, Fonseca VF, Tanner SE, Vasconcelos RP, Reis-Santos P, Maia A, Ruano M, Cardoso I, Henriques S, Pais MP, Brandão P, Brito AC, Castellanos P, Chainho P, Quintella B, da Costa L, Costa MJ, Costa JL and Cabral HN (2021) Historical Data in the CoastNet Geoportal: Documenting Fish Assemblages in Portuguese Estuaries. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:685294. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.685294 Historical Data in the CoastNet Geoportal: Documenting Fish Assemblages in Portuguese Estuaries
Cadernos do Lepaarq, 2019
The excavation of the coastal shallow site Rio do Meio (500-700 years cal BP, Santa Catarina, Brazil) made available a large faunal collection with a particularly interesting frequency of shark remains. Considering all the identified faunal fragments, the centra and teeth of sharks participate with 15% of the remains, being the third most important element behind the bones of fish and shells. The high frequency of shark remains led to the questioning of the dietary value of this resource for coastal groups, fishing and processing techniques, as well as issues associated with their interaction with the supply territory. In this sense, the high frequency of Whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) in association with shark remains at the Rio do Meio site suggests fishing strategies with non-aleatory choices, which may be related to geographic and environmental conditions, as well as to the interspecies interactions. These reflections provide new elements for discussions on diet and territory exploration for subsistence activities, and their implications in terms of spacial movement by these fisher-hunter-gatherer groups.
Depletion of marine megafauna and shifting baselines among artisanal fishers in eastern Brazil
Increasing exploitation effort and efficiency have been leading to population declines and extinctions among large marine animals. Understanding the magnitude of such losses is challenging because current baselines about species' abundances and distributions in the sea were mostly established after humans had started affecting marine populations. For artisanal fisheries, from which written historical records are rarely, if ever, available, approaches based on gathering anecdotal information from fishers' knowledge are a promising method to know the past environmental conditions. We interviewed coastal artisanal fishers, with ages varying from 15 to 85 years, to detect temporal changes in the catch abundance of large fish species, particularly the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis and the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara within Abrolhos Bank, Brazil. Most fishers considered that fishing has led to species depletion. However, older fishers reported significantly more species and larger species as depleted than young fishers. Older fishers caught significantly larger largetooth sawfish and goliath grouper in the past than younger fishers. The largetooth sawfish has not been caught or sought for more than 10 years. Probabilistic tests provided no definitive evidence for local extinction, although the past record of sightings indicates a population decline close to the threshold level for extinction probability. We provide evidence that small-scale artisanal fisheries can decimate the abundance of large coastal fishes, one of those almost close to local extinction. Finally, our results suggest that the younger generation is not aware of past ecological conditions , indicating the occurrence of a shifting baseline syndrome among the fishing community.