Fish and sea urchin herbivory and competition in Kenyan coral reef lagoons: the role of reef management

McClanahan, Tim R.; Nugues, Maggy M.; Mwachireya, Shaaban A.

doi:10.1016/0022-0981(94)90007-8

Cited by 132 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…These results suggest that a trophic-cascade may exist in the Canarian Archipelago, as has been demonstrated in other locations worldwide such as the Mediterranean (Sala & Zabala 1996, Sala et al 1998, tropical coral-reef habitats (Hay 1984, McClanahan & Muthiga 1988, McClanahan & Shafir 1990) and kelp-dominated areas (Andrew & Choat 1982, Bernstein et al 1983, Steneck 1997, Babcock et al 1999, Shears & Babcock 2003. We suggest that this cascade is at least partially related to overfishing of large macroinvertebrate-eating fish (Duggins 1980, Tegner & Dayton 1981, Breen et al 1982, Tegner & Levin 1983, Hay 1984, McClanahan & Muthiga 1988, McClanahan & Shafir 1990, McClanahan 1992, McClanahan et al 1994, Sala & Zabala 1996, Babcock et al 1999; although no data on fishing intensity in this area is available to support this assumption, as artisanal fishermen sell their captures directly to local markets without any sort of governmental control (Bas et al 1995. The increased prevalence of urchin-dominated barrens throughout the Canarian Archipelago could be therefore considered as one symptom of long-standing intense use (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Relationships between rocky-reef fish assemblages, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum and macroalgae throughout the Canarian Archipelago

Tuya¹,

Boyra²,

Sánchez-Jérez³

et al. 2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

129

128

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In situ visual surveys using a hierarchical sampling design were carried out at 36 sublittoral rocky locations along the central-east Atlantic Canarian Archipelago to find relationships among (1) benthic primary producers, (2) the demographic structure of the herbivorous sea urchin Diadema antillarum Phillipi and (3) the trophic structure of coastal fish communities. Our correlation approach displayed a relationship between the lack of large macroinvertebrate-eating predatory fish and the increase in density of sea urchins, in addition to a decrease in fish richness. In contrast, increases in fast-growing plankton-feeding fish species were detected. The size structure of D. antillarum is dominated by small-to-intermediate sized sea urchins in environments with a high density of individuals, whereas low sea urchin density locations are characterized by the dominance of large sized individuals. The physical complexity of the substrate seems to play an important role in determining the local patchiness of D. antillarum. Finally, a non-linear decrease in the percentage of fleshy macroalgal cover with increasing density of D. antillarum was observed. We therefore propose D. antillarum as a key herbivorous species, which plays an important role in determining the structure of shallow, hard-substratum, infralittoral benthic communities throughout the Canary Islands. KEY WORDS: Urchin-fish interactions · Trophic cascades · Diadema antillarum · Sea urchins · Fish assemblages · Macroalgae · Canary Islands Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 278: [157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167][168][169] 2004 tourist industry and the increased demand of fishery resources (Bortone et al. 1991, Falcón et al. 1996. However, no empirical evidence of the effect of these disturbances is available, as there are no data on the nearshore fish populations during the predevelopment era of the 1960s (Falcón et al. 1996). Personal observations and several local studies have suggested that the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum Philippi has experienced a significant increase in abundance throughout the central-east Atlantic (FAO fisheries region #34) in the last decades (Casañas et al. 1998, Alves et al. 2001, Tuya et al. 2004b. Although D. antillarum has been extensively studied in the western Atlantic, where it has a great impact on benthic community structure (e.g. Sammarco et al. 1974, Carpenter 1981, Lessios 1988, little research has been undertaken in the eastern Atlantic to link the demographic structure of this echinoid species with the abundance and biomass of rocky-reef fish assemblages in the Canarian Archipelago. Moreover, no study has addressed the above along with the coastal trophic cascades within this area (Pinnegar et al. 2000).The general aim of this study was therefore to determine whether there is an association between the structure of Diadema antillarum populations and the community structure of macroalgae and fish. This potenti...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Relationships between rocky-reef fish assemblages, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum and macroalgae throughout the Canarian Archipelago

Tuya¹,

Boyra²,

Sánchez-Jérez³

et al. 2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

129

128

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“…High densities are the result of both a highly successful recruitment (Hart & Scheibling 1988, Rose et al 1999 and the anti-predatory benefits of dense aggregations. In the Mombasa MNP, fish biomass has been observed to be 1 to 2 orders lower than in older Kenyan 'unfished' reefs, but higher than in the unprotected 'fished' reefs (McClanahan et al 1994). Highly successful recruitment, self-protected aggregations, and moderate densities of predatory fishes may be crucial for the appearance and maintenance of sea urchin aggregations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…dominate the adjacent coral substrates (McClanahan et al 1994). The distribution and ecology of T. gratilla has been poorly studied, but several reports have shown the presence or dominance of this species in other seagrass meadows of the Indo-Pacific such as the Philippines, Sinai, Northern Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba and Papua New Guinea (Hattori 1987, Nojima & Mukai 1990, Klumpp et al 1993, Valentine & Heck 1999.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…KEY WORDS: Seagrass · Sea urchins · Herbivory · Grazing · Thalassodendron ciliatum · Tripneustes gratilla Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher tial seagrass herbivores (McClanahan et al 1994, Mariani & Alcoverro 1999. In October 1997, while monitoring seagrass meadows in the Mombasa Marine National Park (MNP) lagoon we repeatedly observed the presence of several grazing aggregations of the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla (localised densities of 137 sea urchins per 10 m 2 ) within seagrass beds dominated by the species Thalassodendron ciliatum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Effects of sea urchin grazing on seagrass (Thalassodendron ciliatum) beds of a Kenyan lagoon

Alcoverro

Mariani²

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Predation has been implicated as an important process affecting the structure of sea urchin populations (Duggins 1980, Tegner & Dayton 1981, Breen et al 1982, Tegner & Levin 1983, McClanahan & Muthiga 1989, McClanahan & Shafir 1990, McClanahan 1992, McClanahan et al 1994. Predation also mediates sea urchin behavior such as the choice of habitat by juveniles (Tegner & Dayton 1977, Cameron & Schroeter 1980, Tegner & Levin 1983 and adults (Ogden et al 1973, Breen et al 1982, die1 foraging patterns (Ebling et al 1966.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish predation and the structure of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus populations in the NW Mediterranean

Sala¹,

Zabala²

1996

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

277

264

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Large differences in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) population structure have been observed in the NW Mediterranean. Differences have been attributed to removal of predatory fish through human f~shing activities. This study attempted to determine the effect of predation by fishes on sea urchin population structure. Three infralittoral areas (2 within a marine reserve with a high density of predatory fish, and 1 within an unprotected area with a low density of predatory fish) were studied to compare population structure differences attributable to differing fish predation pressure. P lividus populations were 3 to 4x denser and predation rates were -5x lower in the unprotected site than in the protected sites. Within the reserve, fish accounted for 100% of the predation. P lividus individual mean size was lower within the protected sites than in the unprotected site. Size-frequency distributions showed a negative exponential pattern for P llividus within the reserve, and a bimodal pattern outside the reserve. The urchins showed a crevice-dwelling behaviour in response to the intense predation in the marine reserve. Within the reserve, P lividus population structure appears to be determined by predation by fish. In contrast, in the unprotected area, where the predation rate is much lower, P lividus population structure appears to be determined by recruitment rate. We suggest that a recent increase in P lividus abundance on infralittoral rocky bottoms in the NW Mediterranean, where urchins are not harvested, is caused by human fishing activities. Since P lividus is the major benth~c herbivore in the NW Mediterranean, fishing level may, due to cascading effects, determine the structure of benthic infralittoral con~munities.

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Fish and sea urchin herbivory and competition in Kenyan coral reef lagoons: the role of reef management

Cited by 132 publications

References 27 publications

Relationships between rocky-reef fish assemblages, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum and macroalgae throughout the Canarian Archipelago

Relationships between rocky-reef fish assemblages, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum and macroalgae throughout the Canarian Archipelago

Effects of sea urchin grazing on seagrass (Thalassodendron ciliatum) beds of a Kenyan lagoon

Fish predation and the structure of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus populations in the NW Mediterranean

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