Long-term retention and density-dependent herbivory from Diadema antillarum following translocation onto a reef restoration site

Pilnick, Aaron R.; Henry, Joseph; Hesley, Dalton; Akins, John L.; Patterson, Joshua T.; Lirman, Diego

doi:10.1007/s00338-023-02369-5

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Other restocking studies also hypothesized that habitat features were a driver of losses in retention ( Miller et al, 2007 ; Keller & Donahue, 2006 ). Small test reefs ( Miller et al, 2007 ; Levitan & Genovese, 1989 ) and limited reef complexity ( Keller & Donahue, 2006 ; Dame, 2008 ; Pilnick et al, 2023 ) were possible explanations for migration. Although not part of our study design, we opportunistically inspected the surrounding reefs for Diadema at the time of the experiment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approaches to restore Diadema include restocking individuals ( Chiappone, Swanson & Miller, 2006 ; Nedimyer & Moe, 2006 ; Dame, 2008 ) or ‘assisted natural recovery’ in which suitable settlement substrate for Diadema larvae is supplied on the reef ( Hylkema et al, 2022 ). Individuals for restocking can be acquired through culture from gametes ( Pilnick et al, 2021 ; Wijers et al, 2023 ) and in-situ collection of settlers ( Williams, 2018 ; Williams, 2022 ), but most restocking attempts have been performed by translocating individuals from naturally recovered areas to experimental plots ( Chiappone, Swanson & Miller, 2006 ; Nedimyer & Moe, 2006 ; Maciá, Robinson & Nalevanko, 2007 ; Burdick, 2008 ; Dame, 2008 ; Pilnick et al, 2023 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some restocking attempts have recorded retention of Diadema on experimental reefs of up to 56% after 3 to 12 weeks ( Maciá, Robinson & Nalevanko, 2007 ; Dame, 2008 ; Williams, 2018 ; Pilnick et al, 2023 ). However, most restocking attempts had relatively few or no retained Diadema after 3.5 to 12 months ( Chiappone, Swanson & Miller, 2006 ; Nedimyer & Moe, 2006 ; Burdick, 2008 ; De Breuyn, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most authors point toward predation ( Chiappone, Swanson & Miller, 2006 ; Nedimyer & Moe, 2006 ; Burdick, 2008 ), migration ( Maciá, Robinson & Nalevanko, 2007 ; Williams, 2018 ), or a combination of both ( Dame, 2008 ; Wynne, 2008 ; Williams, 2022 ) as potential causes for the decline of restocked Diadema . Predation may be due to high predation pressure by fishes ( Harborne et al, 2009 ), low fitness of lab-reared Diadema ( Sharp et al, 2018 ) or a lack of available refuges ( Bodmer et al, 2015 ; Pilnick et al, 2023 ), while migration may be triggered by low food availability ( Vadas, 1977 ) or predator avoidance behaviour ( Snyder & Snyder, 1970 ). With the positive effects of recovered Diadema populations, the slow recovery in other places, as well as the few successful restocking attempts, the need for the development of successful Diadema restocking practices is high and the key factors determining retention must be identified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diurnal predators of restocked lab-reared and wild Diadema antillarum near artificial reefs in Saba

de Breuyn,

van der Last,

Klokman

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum controls reef dynamics by grazing on algae and increasing coral recruitment. Populations of Diadema never recovered after a mass-die off in 1983 and 1984, and numbers were further reduced by a more recent die-off in 2022. To restore grazing pressure and thereby the resilience of Caribbean coral reefs, multiple Diadema restocking efforts have been performed. Although results vary, relatively low retention is one of the reasons restocking is not considered more often. If causes for the low retention can be identified, suitable measures may be able to increase restocking success. In this study, we monitored restocked lab-reared and wild juvenile Diadema on artificial reefs around Saba, Caribbean Netherlands. To assess the retention of Diadema over time, we conducted diver surveys and used underwater photo time lapse during daylight. Retention of uncaged lab-reared and wild Diadema decreased steadily with less than 30% surviving after 10 days. In total, 138 predator-prey interactions were recorded, of which 99% involved the queen triggerfish Balistes vetula, although other potential predators were present in the area. None of the recorded predator-prey interactions was successful, which suggests that artificial reefs with incorporated shelters may be suitable for juveniles as daytime refuge. However, Diadema that were more often attacked during the day were more likely to be absent the next morning. Because queen triggerfish often visited the experimental site in the first or last hour of daylight, it could be that they were more successful in their attacks when it was too dark to see anything on the photos and when Diadema came out to feed or to look for better shelter opportunities. If Diadema migrated off the artificial reef, they were probably predated during the process, because no Diadema were found on surrounding reefs. Wild Diadema were attacked significantly more often than lab-reared Diadema, possibly because the wild urchins were larger, but this did not significantly affect retention. Future restocking should be performed on natural or artificial reefs with deeper shelters, so Diadema can retract farther into their crevice, and should include night-time monitoring to identify the remaining unknown factors that cause low retention, including migration and nocturnal predation. This knowledge is urgently needed to coral reef managers so they can increase Diadema restocking success by selecting reefs with a lower predator density, protect urchins during an acclimatization period and/or conduct temporary predator control measures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Diurnal predators of restocked lab-reared and wild Diadema antillarum near artificial reefs in Saba

de Breuyn,

van der Last,

Klokman

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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“…This urchin's populations experienced unprecedented 93–98% mortality due to an unknown disease in 1983–1984, which contributed to an ecological phase shift from coral‐dominated to macroalgae‐dominated communities on Caribbean reefs (Lessios et al 1984). Restoring long‐spined sea urchin populations, along with coral outplanting, is a potential approach to maintain ecosystem function while necessary environmental improvements occur (Edmunds and Carpenter 2001; Francis et al 2019; Williams 2022; Pilnick et al 2023). The natural recovery of long‐spined sea urchin populations has been slow and spatially variable, thereby restocking of hatchery‐propagated long‐spined sea urchins should be considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on growth and survival of long‐spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum larvae

Hassan,

Pilnick,

Patterson

2023

N American J Aquac

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ObjectiveThe presence of heavy metals in seawater is a major challenge for hatchery culture of sea urchin larvae due to their sensitivity to metal pollution. The impact of heavy metals in seawater for sensitive marine larviculture could be minimized via chelation of metals using chemical compounds such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).MethodsIn this study the effects of EDTA were tested for the long‐spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum during larviculture at two concentrations (10 μM and 50 μM) and two exposure durations (6 and 24 days postfertilization). Growth and survival of larvae were evaluated as response variables.ResultSignificant differences in growth and survival of larvae were found among the treatments at different EDTA concentrations and exposure durations. The 10‐μM EDTA treatment enhanced growth and survival of larvae relative to control for both exposure durations. The 50‐μM EDTA treatment was unsuitable for long‐spined sea urchin larviculture due to reductions in growth and survival.ConclusionThe use of 10 μM EDTA during embryo incubation and larviculture is expected to improve long‐spined sea urchin larval fitness, leading to improved hatchery production.

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Cue selection and ontogeny reveal larval settlement dynamics of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum, a keystone coral reef herbivore

Pilnick,

Petrosino,

Hassan

et al. 2023

Mar Biol

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Long-term retention and density-dependent herbivory from Diadema antillarum following translocation onto a reef restoration site

Cited by 6 publications

References 15 publications

Diurnal predators of restocked lab-reared and wild Diadema antillarum near artificial reefs in Saba

Diurnal predators of restocked lab-reared and wild Diadema antillarum near artificial reefs in Saba

Effects of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on growth and survival of long‐spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum larvae

Cue selection and ontogeny reveal larval settlement dynamics of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum, a keystone coral reef herbivore

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