Predation on a newly-stocked long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) by the batwing coral crab (Carpilius corallinus) on a coral reef restoration site

Author(s):  
William C Sharp ◽  
Brian A Reckenbeil

This photograph documents a batwing coral crab (Carpilius corallinus) preying on the sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) on a coral reef site enhanced with artificial shelter and staghorn coral. This interaction illustrates an interaction that to be better understood to develop a restoration strategy that harnesses positive ecological processes.

EDIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Francis-Floyd

This 55-page document contains a wealth of information on the long-spined sea urchin, which is an important animal in coral reef ecosystems. The publication discusses diagnostic methods for Diadema antillarum and provides reporting forms for laboratory and diagnostic work. Written by Ruth Francis-Floyd, Jan Landsberg, Roy Yanong, Yasu Kiryu, Shirley Baker, Deborah Pouder, William Sharp, Gabriel Delgado, Nicole Stacy, Tom Waltzek, Heather Walden, Roxanna Smolowitz, and Greg Beck, and published by the UF/IFAS Veterinary Medicine—Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department, May 2020.


2024 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 6139-2024
Author(s):  
MICHAŁ SCHULZ ◽  
ALEKSANDRA ŁOŚ ◽  
PATRYCJA SKOWRONEK ◽  
ANETA STRACHECKA

Coral reefs are the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They ensure the conservation of biodiversity and are a live habitat for 25% of all marine organisms. The main relationship on the coral reef is the symbiosis between corals and algae from the genus Symbiodinium (commonly called zooxanthellae). The authors of this publication have characterized and described the factors limiting the occurrence of coral reefs, including: water temperature, salinity, access to sunlight, contamination, physicochemical and hydromechanical parameters of water. Moreover anthropogenic threats to coral reefs have been specified, including diving tourism, ecological disasters (e.g. oil spills) and the development of marine aquaristics. Rapid changes in the basic living conditions are dangerous for corals and their symbionts and may cause the unsuitability of the new environment resulting in diseases such as coral bleaching. Corals bleaching is a disease associated with the break of the coral and algae relationship which results in a coral reef death on a global scale. Awareness of these negative factors, often related to human activity, may allow us to better understand the ecological processes that are the basis of reef functioning and might enable us to prevent and oppose to the changes and ecological recessions of coral reefs.


2005 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.K. Bielmyer ◽  
K.V. Brix ◽  
T.R. Capo ◽  
M. Grosell

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 758-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Doropoulos ◽  
Jesper Elzinga ◽  
Remment ter Hofstede ◽  
Mark van Koningsveld ◽  
Russell C. Babcock

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2193-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruber Rodríguez-Barreras ◽  
Alfredo Montañez-Acuña ◽  
Abimarie Otaño-Cruz ◽  
Scott D Ling

Abstract Caribbean reefs have suffered decline in coral cover in recent decades due to recurrent anthropogenic and natural stressors. The regional collapse of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum, combined with overfishing, has contributed to a phase-shift of coral reef communities towards fleshy macroalgal dominance. Here, we examine the population dynamics of D. antillarum at five sites in Puerto Rico from 2011 to 2016 and determine trends between the sea urchin and local benthic habitats. The sea urchin population exhibited low but stable densities (with slight, but non-significant trend of increase), yet showed variability between sites. Large urchins (>60 mm test diam.) were the most abundant across sites and through time, followed by medium urchins (41–60 mm test diam.), whereas small individuals (<40 mm) were rare, indicating recruitment-limitation. Spatial and temporal differences in benthic habitats were not related to local D. antillarum abundances. Macroalgae cover declined at all sites over the 6 years, ranging 5–86%, whereas live coral cover also decreased across all sites (ranging 4–38%). Diadema antillarum populations in Puerto Rico appear stable with limited evidence for recovery trends back to pre-mass mortality densities. Full population recovery may take longer than expected; however, evidence indicates that the contemporary low-density D. antillarum population represents a novel stable regime.


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