Abstract
Two aspects of erosion by sea urchins (Echinoidea) in coral reef habitats are: the direct passage of reef framework material through the gut and the indirect effects through the weakening of the reef structure. Urchin bioerosion can equal or exceed reef carbonate production. The impact of urchins on reefs depends on three variables: species type, test size and population density. Large differences in bioerosion by urchins of the same test size occur between different species. Size differences between species in a sea urchin community, as well as size differences within a species along a reef, can be significant. Bioerosion per urchin increases enormously with size. Changes in population density, through time and space, result in significant changes in bioerosion. It is demonstrated how the interaction of these variables determines in-situ sea urchin bioerosion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott DP, Ogden JC, Abbott IA (1974) Studies on the activity pattern, behavior and food of the echinoid Echinometra lucunter (L.) on beach rock and algal reefs at St Croix, US Virgin Islands. West Indies Lab Spec Publ 4:1–111
Bak RPM (1990) Patterns of echinoid bioerosion in two Pacific coral reef lagoons. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 66:267–272
Bak RPM, van Eys G (1975) Predation of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum Philippi on living coral. Oecologia(Berl) 20:111–115
Bak RPM, Carpay MJE, de Ruyter van Steveninck ED (1984) Densities of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum before and after mass mortalities on the coral reefs of Curaçao. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 17:105–108
Birkeland C (1989) The influence of echinoderms on coral reef communities. In: Jangoux M, Lawrence JM (eds) Echinoderm studies. Balkema, Rotterdam Brookfield pp 1–79
Carpenter RC (1981) Grazing by Diadema antillarum (Philippi) and its effects on the benthic algal community J Mar Res 39:749–765
Carpenter RC (1985) Sea urchin mass-mortality: effects on reef algal abundance, species composition, and metabolism and other coral reef herbivores. Proc Fifth Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 4:53–60
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
Chave KE, Smith SV, Roy KJ (1972) Carbonate production by coral reefs Mar Geol 12:123–140
Downing N, El-Zahr CR (1987) Gut evacuation and filling rates in the rock-boring sea urchin, Echinometra mathaei. Bull Mar Sci 41:579–584
Galzin R, Pointer J (1985) Moorea Island, Society Archipelago. Proc Fifth Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 1:73–1
Glynn PW, Wellington GM (1983) Corals and coral reefs of the Galapagos Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, pp 1–330
Glynn PW, Wellington GM, Birkeland C (1979) Coral reef growth in the Galapagos: limitation by sea urchins. Science 203:47–49
Hubbard DK, Miller AI, Scaturo D (1990) Production and cycling of calcium carbonate in a shelf-edge reef system (st. Croix, US Virgin Islands): applications to the nature of reef systems in the fossil record. J Sed Petrol 60:335–360
Hughes TP, Keller BD, Jackson JBC, Boyle MJ (1985) Mass mortality of the echinoid Diadema antillarum Philippi in Jamaica. Bull Mar Sci 36:377–384
Hutchings PA, Bamber L (1985) Variability of bioerosion rates at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef: preliminary attempts to explain their rates and their significance. Proc Fifth Int Coral Reef Symp Tahiti 5:333–338
Land LS (1979) The fate of reef derived sediment on the north Jamaican island slope. Mar Geol 29:55–71
Lessios HA (1988) Mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean: what have we learned? Ann Rev Syst 19:371–393
Levitan DR (1988) Algal-urchin biomass responses following mass mortality of Diadema antillarum Philippi at Saint John, US Virgin Islands. J Exp Mar Biol 119:167–178
McClanahan TR, Muthiga NA (1988) Changes in Kenyan coral reef structure and function due to exploitation. Hydrobiologia 166:269–276
Ogden JC (1976) Some aspects of herbivore-plant relationships on Caribbean reefs and seagrass beds. Aquat Bot 2:103–116
Ogden JC (1977) Carbonate-sediment production by parrot fish and sea urchins on Caribbean reefs. AAPG Stud Geol 4:281–288
Russo AR (1980) Bioerosion by two rock-boring echinoids (Echinometra mathaei and Echinostrephus aciculatus) on Enewetak Atoll, Marshal Islands. J Mar Res 38:99–110
Ruyter van Steveninck de ED, Bak RPM (1986) Changes in abundance of coral reef bottom components related to mass mortality of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 34:87–94
Scoffin TP, Stearn CW, Boucher D, Frydl P, Hawkins CM, Hunter IG, MacGeachy JK (1980) Calcium carbonate budget of a fringing reef on the west coast of Barbados. Part II Erosion, sediments and internal structure. Bull Mar Sci 30:475–508
Smith SV, Harrison JT (1977) Calcium carbonate production of the mare incognitum, the upper windward reef slope, at Enewetak Atoll. Science 197:556–559
Stearn CW, Scoffin TP, Martindale W (1977) Calcium carbonate budget of a fringing reef on the west coast of Barbados. Part I Zonation and productivity. Bull Mr Sci 27:479–510
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bak, R.P.M. Sea urchin bioerosion on coral reefs: place in the carbonate budget and relevant variables. Coral Reefs 13, 99–103 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300768
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300768