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Evidence for positive density-dependent effects in recovering Diadema antillarum populations
Authors:Robert J. Miller  Aaron J. Adams  Elisse Ruiz
Affiliation:a Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA, 02125, United States
b Center for Fisheries Enhancement, Mote Marine Lab, Charlotte Harbor Field Station, P.O. Box 2197, Pineland, FL 33945, United States
Abstract:Recovering populations may experience positive density-dependent feedbacks that contribute to population increases. Diadema antillarum, a keystone herbivore on Caribbean coral reefs, suffered a well-documented mass mortality in 1983-84. High densities of adults of this long-spined urchin could provide effective refuge from predation for juveniles under a spine canopy, as has been suggested for other urchin species. We evaluated the effect of adult density on juvenile persistence of D. antillarum experimentally, and examined size-frequency distributions of recovering local populations for evidence of positively density-dependent juvenile persistence at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Juvenile persistence was significantly higher in high adult density treatments, and bimodal population size distributions also suggest potential positive effects of adult density on juveniles. This positive feedback could accelerate the recovery of this important coral reef grazer.
Keywords:Coral reef   Density dependence   Diadema antillarum   Juvenile mortality   Size distribution
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