The key role of the sea urchin Diadema aff. antillarum in controlling macroalgae assemblages throughout the Canary Islands (eastern subtropical Atlantic): An spatio-temporal approach

Hernández, José Carlos; Clemente, Sabrina; Sangil, Carlos; Brito, Alberto

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2008.03.002

Cited by 92 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Subsequent recruitment dynamics in complex life cycles are very unpredictable as it involves several stages, each of which can occur in a different habitat (Roughgarden et al 1988). Studying sea urchin recruitment supply processes is particularly relevant to coastal marine communities of the east Atlantic archipelagos, where productive macroalgal beds that remain only in some parts of the islands (Hernández et al 2008b), are vulnerable to severe urchin grazing (Hernández et al 2008a). In Madeira, Selvagean Islands and Canary Islands, urchins can dominate waters up to ~50 m in depth and cover ~89% of the total littoral rocky bottoms (Hernández et al 2008b), generating biodiversity loss and affecting many ecosystem services (Clemente 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In subtidal ecosystems, destructive grazing due to sea urchin population outbreaks frequently causes an ecological disequilibrium, a situation that has been observed globally (Lawrence 1975, Watanabe & Harrold 1991, Hagen 1995, Guidetti & Sala 2007, Ling 2008, Hernández et al 2008a. Urchin hyperabundance results in unproductive barrens that are highly persistent (Knowlton 2004) and can damage the local economy (Hughes et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the interplay of other key environmental factors, such as oceanographic conditions or habitat features (Scheibling 1996, Pinnegar et al 2000, Hernández et al 2008a), can promote positive feedback mechanisms that trigger and maintain the high urchin densities (Guidetti & Sala 2007). The lack of quantitative studies across broad spatial and temporal scales in many places of the world limits our understanding of the dynamics of urchin outbreaks, their effects on macroalgal beds, and the potential role of oceanographic changes in mediating transitions between the 2 community states (algal bed vs. barren).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet few studies in these archipelagos have assessed the influence of environmental and biological factors in determining Diadema aff. antillarum population size and dynamics (Hernán-dez 2006, Clemente 2007, Hernández et al 2008a.In 2002, we began to investigate how coastal oceanographic seasonality may influence the dynamics of Diadema aff. antillarum larvae and ultimately urchin population density around the Canary Islands.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effect of temperature on settlement and postsettlement survival in a barrens-forming sea urchin

Hernández¹,

Clemente²,

Girard³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Large populations of the sea urchin Diadema aff. antillarum occur in the east Atlantic archipelagos. The origin and stability of these large herbivorous populations are not well known. Variability in settlement, recruitment and adult urchin density were quantified and compared over a 7 yr period (2002 to 2008) within the Canary Islands. Variables that potentially affect urchin settlement such as gonad index, temperature and primary productivity (phytoplankton) were measured. Settlement was found to be high during warm years; temperatures > 24°C induced important settlement pulses. Postsettlement survival in barren areas of Tenerife was exponentially and positively correlated with seawater temperature changes, while very low to 0 survival was found at macroalgal beds off El Hierro. Assuming that climate change predictions are correct, the strong positive relationship between thermal history and postsettlement survival of this ecologically important species suggests that barren grounds will persist as seawater warms up if no mass mortality occurs. This future scenario will have important implications for the stability of algal beds and coastal ecosystems as a whole.KEY WORDS: Diadema aff. antillarum · Larval settlement · Seawater warming · Recruitment · Habitat Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 413: [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80] 2010 eastern Canada; Scheibling 1986, Lauzon-Guay & Scheibling 2007.It is well known that temperature regulates larval development and higher temperatures facilitate faster larval growth (Thorson 1950, Hoegh-Guldberg & Pearse 1995 and urchin reproduction . Temperature has been considered an important causative factor in the destruction of macroalgal beds by sea urchin grazing (Hart & Scheibling 1988, Ling et al. 2008. However, in population ecology, it is not always easy to establish causative effects due to the lack of historical data or baseline studies. The link between sea surface temperature and destructive grazing due to the rapid development that urchin larvae experience in warmer waters seems an oversimplistic model that requires further study. This relationship may apply for some sea urchin species, but not for others in which recruitment is inversely related to high temperatures. For example, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus recruits around southern California are more abundant following cold winter episodes (Ebert 1983), and low temperatures seem to favour high recruitment of S. droebachiensis in the coast of Norway (Sivertsen 2006). In any case, understanding the influence of abiotic factors on urchin populations is necessary to predict the consequences of seawater warming that is associated with large-scale climate change. This is of particular interest in the study of population dynamics in thermophilous species such as Diadema aff. antillarum, which is particulary sensitive to water warming processes and is a key herbivore.The relevance of larval supply in regulating populations of me...

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Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resale or Republication Not Permitted Without Written Consenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of temperature on settlement and postsettlement survival in a barrens-forming sea urchin

Hernández¹,

Clemente²,

Girard³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Uncommon southwest swells trigger sea urchin disease outbreaks in Eastern Atlantic archipelagos

Hernández

Sangil

Lorenzo‐Morales

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Recurrent sea urchin mass mortality has recently affected eastern Atlantic populations of the barren‐forming sea urchin Diadema africanum . This new episode of die‐off affords the opportunity to determine common meteorological and oceanographic conditions that may promote disease outbreaks. The population dynamics of this sea urchin species are well known—urchin barrens have persisted for many decades along most of the coastlines off the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvages, and the Canary Islands, where they limit macroalgae biomass growth. However, this new and explosive mortality event decimated the sea urchin population by 93% on Tenerife and La Palma Islands. Two severe episodes of southwestern rough sea that led to winter storms, in February 2010 (Xynthia) and February 2018 (Emma), preceded both mass mortality events. The autumn and winter months of those years were anomalous and characterized by swells with an average wave height above 2 m that hit the south and southwest sides of the islands. The amoeba Paramoeba brachiphila was the only pathogen isolated this time from the moribund and dead sea urchins, suggesting that the amoeba was the primary cause of the mortality. This new sea urchin die‐off event supports the “killer‐storm” hypothesis that has been already described for western Atlantic coasts. These anomalous southwest storms during winters generate pronounced underwater sediment movement and large‐scale vertical mixing, detected in local tide gauge, which may promote paramoebiasis. This study presents valuable insights about climate‐mediated changes in disease frequency and its impacts on the future of coastal marine ecosystems in the Atlantic.

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Recurrent large‐scale sea urchin mass mortality and the establishment of a long‐lasting alternative macroalgae‐dominated community state

Sangil

Hernández

2021

Limnology & Oceanography

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Relationships between sea urchins and noncrustose macroalgae are typically nonlinear, and an abrupt phase shift from a barren to a macroalgae-dominated state and vice versa happens when the sea urchin abundance exceeds a critical threshold. Here, we have used two mass mortality events as a natural experiment to study progressive changes and dynamics between these stable states. In 2009-2010 and 2018, two mass mortalities decimated the populations of the sea urchin Diadema africanum in the Canary Islands (Eastern Subtropical Atlantic). In these islands, this sea urchin is a key-herbivore controlling the growth of macroalgae, and sea urchin barrens have persisted for more 60 yr. Mass mortality events differed in intensity both in space and time, and two phase shifts from sea urchin barrens to macroalgal beds were detected in both when sea urchin density declined below a critical threshold of 4 indv. Á m À2 . The first mass mortality was greater in La Palma Island, consequently in this island a long-lasting alternative state dominated by noncrustose macroalgae has been established. Subsequently, a recurrent mass mortality also favored the transition from the sea urchin barrens to noncrustose macroalgal beds in Tenerife Island. After mass mortalities, D. africanum populations were reduced by 94-98% in both islands. No signs of recovery of these populations have been identified after phase shifts; ecosystem feedbacks may be the cause of the low population density of D. africanum.

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The key role of the sea urchin Diadema aff. antillarum in controlling macroalgae assemblages throughout the Canary Islands (eastern subtropical Atlantic): An spatio-temporal approach

Cited by 92 publications

References 39 publications

Effect of temperature on settlement and postsettlement survival in a barrens-forming sea urchin

Effect of temperature on settlement and postsettlement survival in a barrens-forming sea urchin

Uncommon southwest swells trigger sea urchin disease outbreaks in Eastern Atlantic archipelagos

Recurrent large‐scale sea urchin mass mortality and the establishment of a long‐lasting alternative macroalgae‐dominated community state

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