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Can one species determine the structure of the benthic community on a temperate rocky reef? The case of the long-spined sea-urchin Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in the eastern Atlantic

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Abstract

We sampled 36 coastal rocky reefs throughout the overall Canarian Archipelago and consider (1) the daily macroalgal consumption of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum and (2) the daily net production of macroalgae along temperate rocky-substrates, to provide evidence that Diadema antillarum plays an important role in the structure of the shallow benthic environment of the eastern Atlantic. D. antillarum was found to be the main key-herbivore species, as it controls by its own the algal assemblages, with negligible contribution of other grazing species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Campus Tafira, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, E-35017, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain

    Fernando Tuya, Arturo Boyra & Ricardo Haroun

  2. Marine Biology Lab, University of Alicante, P.O. Box 99, E-03080, Alicante, Spain

    Pablo Sanchez-Jerez & Carmen Barbera

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  1. Fernando Tuya
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  2. Arturo Boyra
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  3. Pablo Sanchez-Jerez
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  4. Carmen Barbera
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  5. Ricardo Haroun
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Tuya, F., Boyra, A., Sanchez-Jerez, P. et al. Can one species determine the structure of the benthic community on a temperate rocky reef? The case of the long-spined sea-urchin Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in the eastern Atlantic. Hydrobiologia 519, 211–214 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000026599.57603.bf

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