meadowlark, Tropical parula, pearly-vented tody-tyrant, blue
dacnis, dacnis, burnished-buff tanager, purple-throated eupho-
nia, tanager, Brazilian tanager, masked yellowthroat, blue-black
grassquit, double-collared seedeater, yellow-bellied seedeater,
saffron finch, grassland yellow-finch, uniform finch, píleated
finch, rufous-collared sparrow, wedge-tailed grass-finch and
house sparrow. These species, of various orders, are distributed
in brackish water coastal lagoons, inland lagoons, restinga veg-
etation, forests and fields or crops. Several are migratory birds
seeking for perches in the environments of the ecoregion. One is
at the official list of endangered species: the red-browed parrot.
The house sparrow is unquestionably exotic and thrived with
incredible speed and success in various regions of Brazil. The
small number of songbirds is not surprising, given the system-
atic persecution they undergone to fulfill the melancholic role of
domestic musical entertainers.
The Ichthyofauna is also significantly represented in
Quissamã marine and continental aquatic ecosystems with 51
species identified: two species of sardines, atlantic herring, twait
shad, two species of anchovy, wolf fish, red wolf fish, Piau (head-
stander), toothless characin, freshwater barracuda, four species
of lambari (Astyanax), three piava species, catfish, mandi, yellow
catfish, suckermouth armoured catfish, dwarf hoplo, two species
of South American kinefish, four species of guppy, flagfin mojar-
ra, swamp eel, two species of pearl cichlid, pike cichlid, Brazilian
mullet, silver mullet, two species of croacker, flagfin mojarra, two
species of silver mojarra, ringneck blenny, blenny, two species
of snook, large-tooth flounders, flatfish and burrfish(62). Detailed
studies of ichthyology have been carried out by scientists in the
southern restinga coastal lagoons. Among them are Reis, Aguiaro
and Caramaschi(63), studying the lagoons of Cabiúnas and Com-
prida; Fleet and Caramaschi(64) studying the Imboacica lagoon.
In these ecosystems legal measures and protective prac-
tices have resulted in the most resounding failure. Laws no.
4,771/65 (already replaced by another in 2012) and nº 6,938/81,
as well as Resolution No. 004/85 of the National Environmental
Council are confusing and reticent regarding coastal psamophilic
formations. Resolution No. 004/85 considers as permanent pres-
ervation in the northern Fluminense only the vegetation located
in the range of 300 meters from the maximum high tide, which
is constituted nearly of herbaceous plants. The important shrub
and tree formations, located more to the interior, were in fact
unprotected. The Federal Decree 750/93 considered the native
coastal psamophilic formations (improperly called "restingas")
as ecosystems associated with the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain,
requiring for the exploration and suppression of their primary
remnants and their middle and advanced stages of regeneration
"reasoned decision of the competent state body, with prior con-
sent of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable
Natural Resources - IBAMA, informing the National Environmen-
tal Council - CONAMA, when is necessary the execution of works,
plans, activities or projects of public or social interest, through
study approval and environmental impact report."The regulation of this decree, however, generated a se-
ries of controversies; with a group of specialists (supported by
entrepreneurs who exploit the Atlantic Domain) understanding
that only the body of the Law will be in accordance with what is
determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Brazil of 1988.
It was also well discussed the definition of early, middle and ad-
vanced stages of regeneration, as well as the concept of eco-
logical corridors. This decree was submitted to a heavy attack
from those who felt harmed by it. While the discussion hangs in
the offices, the destruction of psamophilic native coastal eco-
systems in real Brazil continues to ignore solemnly what is hap-
pening in legal Brazil.These two restingas of the northern Fluminense have re-
ceived uneven attention. The one that extends from Macaé to
Barra do Furado has been much more studied than that between
the Cape of São Tomé and Manguinhos beach. This interest is
also reflected in proposals for the protection of its aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems. In 1979, the Annual Plan of Physical Ac-
tivities of the State Foundation of Environmental Engineering in-
cluded the southern restinga as an area to be studied for protec-
tion purposes. In an international symposium in Rio Grande do
Sul, held in 1982, a proposal was presented for the protection of
all restingas of Rio de Janeiro State. The joint efforts of the ex-
tinct FEEMA, the International Waterfowl Bureau, the University
of Brasília and the Federal University of São Carlos resulted in a
proposal for a Federal Biological Reserve for the southern rest-
inga in 1984. Later that year Maciel insisted on the importance
of a Biological Reserve for the restinga from Macaé to Barra
do Furado. In 1989, Macaé public authorities created, by law, a
Marine Park and an Environmental Protection Area to protect
the archipelago of Santana. State law no. 639/96 provided for
the creation of the Macaé Environmental Protection Area, cov-
ering the southern restinga and other environments(65). Finally,
the Restinga National Park of Jurubatiba, located between Ma-
caé and Quissamã, was created in 1998 by federal decree. The
restinga located between Cape of São Tomé and Manguinhos
beach did not deserve the same attention, despite its degrada-
tion. FEEMA's Annual Physical Activities Plan of 1979 included it
in the second stage of its study and protection project. Studies
were proposed for protecting the area between Barra do Furado
and Atafona by FEEMA Annual Physical Activities Plan of 1979,
as an unfolding of the plans for the southern restinga. The gen-
eral proposal for the protection of the restingas of the State of
Rio de Janeiro, presented at an international symposium in Rio
Grande do Sul in 1982, also included it, since this annual plan