Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Echinobase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
Echinobase
ECB-ART-45355
Oecologia 1985 Mar 01;654:591-598. doi: 10.1007/BF00379678.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

Competition between herbivourous fishes and urchins on Caribbean reefs.

Hay ME , Taylor PR .


Abstract
When the common sea urchin Diadema antillarum was removed from a 50 m strip of reef in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, cover of upright algae and the grazing rates and densities of herbivorous parrotfish and surgeonfish increased significantly within 11-16 weeks when compared to immediately adjacent control areas. Sixteen months after removal, Diadema had recovered to 70% of original density, abundance of upright algae no longer differed between removal and control areas, and the abundance and grazing activity of herbivorous fish in the removal was approaching equivalence with control areas. On a patch reef in St. Croix that had been cleared of Diadema 10-11 years earlier (Ogden et al. 1973b), urchins had recovered to only 50-60% of original density. This reef still showed significantly higher rates of grazing by fish and a significantly greater density of parrotfish and surgeonfish than a nearby control reef where Diadema densities had not been altered. These results indicate that high Diadema densities (7-12/m2 for this study) may suppress the densities of herbivorous fish on Caribbean reefs.

PubMed ID: 28311871
Article link: Oecologia


Genes referenced: LOC100887844

References [+] :
Brown, Competition between seed-eating rodents and ants in desert ecosystems. 1977, Pubmed