The Southwestern Atlantic harbors unique reef environments with high proportions of endemic species. The most prominent reefs are located in the Abrolhos Bank, a 46,000 km² extension of the South American continental shelf. However, just 100 km north of Abrolhos is the Royal Charlotte Bank (RCB), an area still poorly investigated. From a biological perspective, the only scientific information available is the historical record of lobster fisheries in the region. Hence, we performed an expedition to investigate what macrohabitats are found in the RCB and perform a preliminary biodiversity assessment. A dropcam was deployed in 67 sites and recorded images of macrohabitats and associated biodiversity. Four different macrohabitats were detected: rhodolith beds, macroalgal forests associated with rhodolith beds, calcareous sand deposits and coral reefs. The former two were the most frequent, and both rhodolith and macroalgae densities were higher on the outer shelf. A total of 83 species of fish, invertebrates and algae were identified, which comprises a comparatively high diversity for visual reef biodiversity assessments in the Southwestern Atlantic. Our findings show that the RCB is a large and diverse ecosystem complex mostly composed of rhodoliths, and also that it may be already undergoing anthropogenic impacts associated with climate change and fisheries. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to understand the extent of biodiversity and its main threats and evaluate the possible need of conservation and management measures.

西南大西洋拥有独特的珊瑚礁环境，其中特有物种占很大比例。最著名的珊瑚礁位于46,000 km ²的阿伯罗霍斯银行南美大陆架的延伸。但是，在夏洛特皇家银行以北100公里处是皇家夏洛特银行（RCB），该地区的调查仍然不多。从生物学的角度来看，唯一可用的科学信息是该地区龙虾渔业的历史记录。因此，我们进行了一次考察以调查在RCB中发现了哪些大型栖息地，并进行了初步的生物多样性评估。在67个地点部署了一个放像机，并记录了大型栖息地和相关生物多样性的图像。发现了四种不同的大型栖息地：菱形石床，与菱形石床相关的大型藻类森林，钙质砂沉积物和珊瑚礁。前两个是最常见的，并且在外架子上，杜鹃石和大型藻类的密度都较高。共有83种鱼类，确定了无脊椎动物和藻类，其中西南大西洋的视觉礁生物多样性评估具有相对较高的多样性。我们的研究结果表明，RCB是一个大型多样的生态系统综合体，主要由菱锰矿组成，并且它可能已经在与气候变化和渔业相关的人为影响。因此，有必要进行进一步调查，以了解生物多样性的范围及其主要威胁，并评估保护和管理措施的可能需求。而且它可能已经受到与气候变化和渔业有关的人为影响。因此，有必要进行进一步调查，以了解生物多样性的范围及其主要威胁，并评估保护和管理措施的可能需求。而且它可能已经受到与气候变化和渔业有关的人为影响。因此，有必要进行进一步调查，以了解生物多样性的范围及其主要威胁，并评估保护和管理措施的可能需求。