Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of current rates of Diadema antillarum larval settlement

  • Note
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The generally slow and incomplete recovery of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, from the 1983–84 Caribbean-wide die-off, particularly in the Florida Keys, USA, raises the question of factors limiting population recovery. This study sought to quantify larval settlement rates as an indicator of larval supply at two sites in the Florida Keys, utilizing methods comparable to an historic study. Settlement at two sites in southwest Puerto Rico was also examined as a comparison of present-day settlement rates at a site where D. antillarum recovery has been moderate. Monthly settlement rates were low (max < 2 m−2) and did not differ between the two sites examined in the Florida Keys. Settlement was significantly higher at only one of the Puerto Rico sites (max 16 m−2), but still an order of magnitude lower than that reported for historic populations in Curaçao (1982–83). Results are consistent with the hypothesis of low larval supply limiting D. antillarum recovery in the Florida Keys.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Bak RPM (1985) Recruitment patterns and mass mortalities in the sea urchin Diadema antillarum. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr 5:267–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter RC (1988) Mass mortality of a Caribbean sea urchin: immediate effects on community metabolism and other herbivores. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85:511–514

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter RC (1990) Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum. 1. Long-term effects on sea urchin population-dynamics and coral reef algal communities. Mar Biol 104:67–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter RC, Edmunds PJ (2006) Local and regional scale recovery of Diadema promotes recruitment of scleractinian corals. Ecol Lett 9:271–280

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chiappone M, Swanson DW, Miller SL (2002) Density, spatial distribution and size structure of sea urchins in Florida Keys coral reef and hard-bottom habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 235:117–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debrot AO, Nagelkerken I (2006) Recovery of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum in Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) linked to lagoonal and wave sheltered shallow rocky habitats. Bull Mar Sci 79:415–424

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez JC, Brito A, Cubero E, Garcia N, Girard D, Gonzalez-Lorenzo G, Falcon JM (2006) Temporal patterns of larval settlement of Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata: echinoidea) in the Canary Islands using an experimental larval collector. Bull Mar Sci 78:271–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP (1994) Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef. Science 265:1547–1551

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TP, Reed DC, Boyle MJ (1987) Herbivory on coral reefs: community structure following mass mortalities of sea urchins. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 113:39–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunte W, Younglao D (1988) Recruitment and population recovery of Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata; Echinoidea) in Barbados. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 45:109–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton N (1992) Thresholds and multiple stable states in coral reef community dynamics. Am Zool 32:674–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazar KE, Vaughan D, Grober-Dunsmore R, Bonito V (2005) Relatively low densities of Diadema antillarum on the Florida reef tract do not indicate population recovery. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 56:837–838

    Google Scholar 

  • Lessios HA (1988) Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean: What have we learned? Annu Rev Ecol Syst 19:371–393

    Google Scholar 

  • Lessios HA (2005) Diadema antillarum populations in Panama twenty years following mass mortality. Coral Reefs 24:125–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macia S, Robinson MP, Nalevanko A (2007) Experimental dispersal of recovering Diadema antillarum increases grazing intensity and reduces macroalgal abundance on a coral reef. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 348:173–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RJ, Adams AJ, Ebersole JP, Ruiz E (2007) Evidence for positive density-dependent effects in recovering Diadema antillarum populations. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 349:215–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumby PJ (2006) The impact of exploiting grazers (Scaridae) on the dynamics of Caribbean coral reefs. Ecol Appl 16:747–769

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Myhre S, Acevedo-Gutierrez A (2007) Recovery of sea urchin Diadema antillarum populations is correlated to increased coral and reduced macroalgal cover. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 329:205–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weil E, Torres JL, Ashton M (2005) Population characteristics of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 17 years after the mass mortality event. Rev Biol Trop 53:219–231

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This project was made possible by funding from the NOAA-National Marine Sanctuaries Program and conduced under permits FKNMS-2004-057 and FKNMS-2006-026. Field assistance was provided by B. Mason, D. Williams, K. Flynn, and L. Harman.

Author information

Author notes

  1. K. L. Kramer

    Present address: National Park Service, Pacific Island Network Inventory and Monitoring (PACN I&M), P.O. Box 52, Hawai’i National Park, HI, 96718, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NOAA-Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Dr, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    M. W. Miller

  2. Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    K. L. Kramer

  3. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 9013, Mayagüez, PR, 00681, USA

    S. M. Williams

  4. Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    L. Johnston

  5. Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Ln, Wilmington, NC, 28409, USA

    A. M. Szmant

Authors
  1. M. W. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. L. Kramer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. M. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L. Johnston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. M. Szmant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. W. Miller.

Additional information

Communicated by Geology Editor Dr Bernhard Riegl

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miller, M.W., Kramer, K.L., Williams, S.M. et al. Assessment of current rates of Diadema antillarum larval settlement. Coral Reefs 28, 511–515 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0458-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-008-0458-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation