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PLoS One
2024 Jan 01;192:e0297026. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297026.
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Impacts of hurricanes and disease on Diadema antillarum in shallow water reef and mangrove locations in St John, USVI.
Godard RD
,
Wilson CM
,
Amstutz CG
,
Badawy N
,
Richardson B
.
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The 1983-1984 mortality event of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum reduced their population by up to 99% and was accompanied by a phase shift from coral dominated to algal dominated reefs in the Caribbean. Modest rebounds of D. antillarum populations in the Caribbean have been noted, and here we document the impacts of two major hurricanes (2017, Irma and Maria) and the 2022 disease outbreak on populations of D. antillarum found by targeted surveys in the urchin zone at nine fringing reef and three mangrove sites on St. John, USVI. D. antillarum populations at the reef sites had declined by 66% five months after the hurricanes but showed significant recovery just one year later. The impact of recent disease on these populations was much more profound, with all reef populations exhibiting a significant decline (96.4% overall). Fifteen months after the disease was first noted, D. antillarum at reef sites exhibited a modest yet significant recovery (15% pre-disease density). D. antillarum populations in mangrove sites were impacted by the hurricanes but exhibited much higher density than reef sites after the disease outbreak, suggesting that at D. antillarum in some locations may be less vulnerable to disease.
Fig 1. Timeline.Dates (month/yr) of Diadema antillarum surveys noted above the blue timeline, with dates of the two major hurricanes (month/day/yr) and the disease outbreak (month/yr) noted below the timeline.
Fig 2. Map STJ.Survey sites in St John, USVI. Blue marks the numbered reef sites (1–9) and green marks the mangrove sites (M1-M3). The blue x’s mark the two reef locations in Hurricane Hole that were anecdotally surveyed in 2022 and 2023 where urchin density remained high (2022 and 2023). Diadema Survey Map produced by Kristen Bell (Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8372679).
Fig 3. Photos.A) D. antillarum reef site 6 (2016, pre-hurricane) B) D. antillarum reef site 7, spines and test (2022) C) D. antillarum mangrove site M1 (2022) D) D. antillarum shallow reef adjacent to M1 (2022).
Fig 4. Box-whisker overall reef sites.Box-and-whisker plots of D. antillarum m-2 at the nine reef sites in St. John sampled 2017–2023. The median value is indicated by the horizontal bar and the X marks the mean value.
Fig 5. Average individual reef sites.Average (± S.E.) D. antillarum m-2 (3 transects per site) for the 9 reef sites in St. John, USVI, sampled in 2017–2023. Wave action prevented sampling at Site 1 in 2020. Original data available (https://zenodo.org/records/8395238).
Fig 6. Mangrove sites.Average (± SE) D. antillarum m-2 at the three mangrove sites (M1, M2, M3) 2017–2023. The diamond indicates the average D. antillarum m-2 of the nine reef sites in each year. M1 was not sampled in 2019 or 2020 due to turbidity and debris, and in 2023 time constraints prevented sampling at M2 and M3. Original data available (https://zenodo.org/records/8395238).
