Persistence of sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) barrens on the east coast of Tasmania: inhibition of macroalgal recovery in the absence of high densities of sea urchins
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Joseph P. Valentine
Abstract
Sea urchin barrens occur commonly in temperate regions throughout the world and have significant implications for ecological processes on subtidal rocky reefs because they constitute areas of low productivity and diversity compared with habitats dominated by macroalgae. On the east coast of Tasmania, the occurrence of sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) barrens in sheltered bays has additional implications in that they represent an important habitat of the introduced kelp Undaria pinnatifida. Identifying the factors responsible for ongoing maintenance of the barren habitat is essential in defining management options to promote recovery of native canopy-forming species. We used transplant experiments to investigate whether inhibition of recovery of native canopy-forming algae can occur in the absence of intense sea urchin grazing. High densities of native canopy-forming species successfully colonised paving blocks deployed in a dense algal bed adjacent to a sea urchin barren. Transplanting these paving blocks to plots on the barren from which sea urchins were removed resulted in >80% mortality of recruits after three months, and 100% mortality after seven months. The decline in macroalgal recruits on paving blocks transplanted to the urchin barren was associated with an increase in the cover and depth of sediment. A persistent cover of sediment also developed on paving blocks deployed on the urchin barren, where no native canopy-forming algal recruits were observed. While sea urchins are undoubtedly important in creating urchin barrens, our results suggest that other mechanisms can influence recovery of native canopy species. In sheltered and semi-exposed bays on the east coast of Tasmania, sedimentation appears to play a critical role in inhibiting early developmental stages of native macroalgae, thereby contributing to a positive feedback that acts to maintain the barren habitat.
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© Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
Articles in the same Issue
- First letters to the editor in Botanica Marina's “Forum” section
- Propagule release and recruitment in Porphyra perforata (Rhodophyta) from Baja California, Mexico
- Spatio-temporal variability of intertidal algal assemblages of the Slovenian coast (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea)
- Persistence of sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) barrens on the east coast of Tasmania: inhibition of macroalgal recovery in the absence of high densities of sea urchins
- Biomass and taxonomic richness of epilithic cyanobacteria in a tropical intertidal rocky habitat
- Spatial variation in the structural parameters of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows in the Canary Islands: a multiscaled approach
- The structure of sulfated galactans from selected species of New Zealand Champia
- The structure of the galactan from Aeodes nitidissima (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta)
- The structure of the polysaccharide from Grateloupia intestinalis in New Zealand
- Evaluation of the structures of polysaccharides from three taxa in the genus Hymenena and from Acrosorium decumbens (Rhodophyta, Delesseriaceae)
- The structure of polysaccharides from selected New Zealand species of Grateloupia
- The application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to the red algal polysaccharides of selected New Zealand species of Lomentaria
- Pseudovivipary, a new form of asexual reproduction in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica
- Comments on the papers by Ian J. Miller devoted to carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of red algal galactans
- Response to “Comments on the papers by Ian J. Miller devoted to carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of red algal galactans” by Anatolii I. Usov; Bot. Mar. 48 (2005): 178–180
- 8th International Phycological Congress 13–19 August 2005, Durban, South Africa
Articles in the same Issue
- First letters to the editor in Botanica Marina's “Forum” section
- Propagule release and recruitment in Porphyra perforata (Rhodophyta) from Baja California, Mexico
- Spatio-temporal variability of intertidal algal assemblages of the Slovenian coast (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea)
- Persistence of sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma) barrens on the east coast of Tasmania: inhibition of macroalgal recovery in the absence of high densities of sea urchins
- Biomass and taxonomic richness of epilithic cyanobacteria in a tropical intertidal rocky habitat
- Spatial variation in the structural parameters of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows in the Canary Islands: a multiscaled approach
- The structure of sulfated galactans from selected species of New Zealand Champia
- The structure of the galactan from Aeodes nitidissima (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta)
- The structure of the polysaccharide from Grateloupia intestinalis in New Zealand
- Evaluation of the structures of polysaccharides from three taxa in the genus Hymenena and from Acrosorium decumbens (Rhodophyta, Delesseriaceae)
- The structure of polysaccharides from selected New Zealand species of Grateloupia
- The application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to the red algal polysaccharides of selected New Zealand species of Lomentaria
- Pseudovivipary, a new form of asexual reproduction in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica
- Comments on the papers by Ian J. Miller devoted to carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of red algal galactans
- Response to “Comments on the papers by Ian J. Miller devoted to carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of red algal galactans” by Anatolii I. Usov; Bot. Mar. 48 (2005): 178–180
- 8th International Phycological Congress 13–19 August 2005, Durban, South Africa
