Carpenter Robert C, Edmunds Peter J
Ecol Lett. 2006 Mar;9(3):271-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00866.x.
The phase change from coral to macroalgal dominance on many Caribbean reefs was exacerbated by the mortality of the echinoid Diadema antillarum in 1983-1984, and until recently, this sea urchin has remained rare on reefs throughout the western Atlantic. By the late 1990s, Diadema started to reappear in large numbers on some Jamaican reefs, and by 2000, the high densities were correlated with significantly greater abundances of juvenile corals. Here, we show that dense populations of Diadema now occur over a multi-kilometre-wide scale at six locations scattered along a 4100 km arc across the entire Caribbean. In all cases, these dense populations are found in shallow water (< 6 m depth) on outer reef communities and are associated with reduced macroalgal cover and enhanced coral recruitment. We conclude that population recovery of Diadema is occurring at both local and regional scales, and that grazing by this echinoid is creating conditions favouring the recruitment of corals.
1983年至1984年，海胆类的刺冠海胆大量死亡，加剧了许多加勒比珊瑚礁从珊瑚主导到大型藻类主导的相变，直到最近，这种海胆在整个西大西洋的珊瑚礁上仍然稀少。到20世纪90年代末，刺冠海胆开始大量重新出现在牙买加的一些珊瑚礁上，到2000年，高密度的刺冠海胆与大量幼体珊瑚的显著增加相关。在此，我们表明，现在在整个加勒比地区沿4100公里弧线分布的六个地点，都出现了多公里宽范围内的高密度刺冠海胆种群。在所有情况下，这些高密度种群都出现在外礁群落的浅水区域（深度<6米），并且与大型藻类覆盖减少和珊瑚幼体补充增加有关。我们得出结论，刺冠海胆的种群恢复正在局部和区域尺度上发生，并且这种海胆的啃食正在创造有利于珊瑚幼体补充的条件。
