Large-scale biodiversity monitoring on rocky shores in Brazil: Informing coastal management for climate-resilient strategies

Monitoring biodiversity at large spatial scales is essential for understanding the impacts of climate change on coastal ecosystems and offering insights for environmental management. Here, we compile the results of four large-scale spatial studies along the southeastern Brazilian coast, in which we investigate ecological patterns and processes in rocky shore communities. Altogether, the studies highlighted that abiotic factors, particularly ocean temperature and wave exposure, are primary drivers of intertidal community composition and structure. These factors not only regulate species distribution and abundance but also influence biological interactions, such as predator-prey dynamics. For instance, cooler upwelling zones supported distinct species assemblages compared to warmer areas. Predation impacts weakened with increasing wave exposure. Urbanisation adds another layer of complexity to these natural gradients. Coastal areas near major urban centres experienced nutrient and pollutant influxes that altered species composition and abundance. Anthropogenic factors may reshape intertidal communities, amplifying natural stressors and highlighting the need for large-scale monitoring to distinguish human impacts from natural variability. By linking biodiversity patterns to environmental and human-driven variables across extensive spatial gradients, these studies provide insights into the underlying mechanisms governing coastal biodiversity and offer predictive capacity for future changes. Macroecological approaches are essential to address the unique environmental variability of the southeastern Brazilian coast, as these studies revealed that ecological responses often differ across scales, from localised interactions to broad patterns spanning hundreds of kilometres. Such findings are crucial in a climate change context, as they offer a foundation for understanding how ocean warming, sea level rise, and shifts in upwelling might alter population structure and community dynamics in the future. Collectively, our results argue for a comprehensive, scale-integrated monitoring framework that captures both spatial and temporal biodiversity changes. As marine ecosystems face increased temperatures and extreme weather events, large-scale monitoring can provide early indicators of biodiversity shifts, enabling adaptation strategies. Understanding how intertidal communities respond to climate and human-induced changes is crucial for building resilience in these vital ecosystems, ensuring that coastal management efforts can better protect biodiversity and ecosystem functionality.