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Bonaire Nature & Nature Organizations: Urchins and Reef Health
Bonaire Talk: Bonaire Nature & Nature Organizations: Fish and Sealife of Bonaire: Urchins and Reef Health
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Laura a.k.a. Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #256) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 2:05 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hello all --

With visions of shore diving swimming through my head, it just occurred to me to ask about the sea urchin population on Bonaire.

While snorkeling around St. Vincent and the Grenadines in March 2003, I was amazed at how many urchins there were. Whole prickly forests of 'em!
Moving amongst them was like playing an underwater game of minesweeper. I have since read that I'd happened upon one of the more denser populations in the Caribbean, which might explain the absence of macroalgae on the reefs there.

So my question is, is it really true that more urchins = a healthier reef? And if so, why have divers reported that there are now lesser numbers of urchins around Bonaire than many years ago? Is this just a cycle, or a result of Lenny, or...?









 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Freddie Hughes {Moderator} (Moderator - Post #117) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 2:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Laura I am going to move this thread over to Bonaire Nature, where I think it belongs..

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Laura a.k.a. Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #258) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 2:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks, Freddie --

This is why I asked about where critter questions go in the "Spotted Black Peas" thread. :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathalie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #138) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 4:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bonaire's shallows (don't know about at depth) used to be covered with a huge population of long spined sea urchins. Some years ago (20-25?) there was a disease that wiped them out throughout the Caribbean. They have re-established more successfully in some places than others. I note much more algae than I did in the years before the urchin die-off. There may be other factors. They also provided intimidating incentive to humans to use care and control while near the reef.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cheryl Ferguson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #171) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 5:02 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just back from Bonaire - we saw both .. white and black sea urchins, but not as many as we saw in Curacao last year. Curacao seemed to have too many as far as I'm concerned!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter - Artist Bonaire Creations (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2073) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 6:38 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Urchins have been on a noticeable increase in the 8+ years I have lived on Bonaire. Urchins eat algea and suffered a massive Caribbean-wide die out as mentioned above. Around Bonaire, we have a huge population of Parrotfish that exploded after the urchin die off. And what do you think parrotfish eat... algea.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cyn (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #16832) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 7:01 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Linda, like the new profile pic:-) purple is your color:-)

Who (or what) eat parrotfish?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Laura a.k.a. Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #262) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 7:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Nathalie -- A sea urchin die-out, eh? Wow. I wonder if they found out what caused it.

Cheryl -- Curacao sounds like St. Vincent. Had to tread VERY carefully! :-)

Linda -- So that's perhaps what's kept the algae under control, then?

Cyn -- Good question! I hope it all balances out...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Laura a.k.a. Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #263) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 8:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Some links about the die-off. Apparently they still don't know exactly what caused it...

http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/FieldCourses00/PapersMarineEcologyArticles/MassMortalityinDiademaant.html
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/9/4822

About the recovery process:
http://striweb.si.edu/publications/PDFs/Coral%20Reefs%202005.pdf

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2574) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 8:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Nassau groupers and barracuda are a couple of parrotfish predators Cynde; nope, never seen it happen, just brittle stars hanging out of spanish mackerelmouths. I would not be surprised if some of the larger predators I've seen down Punt Vierkant way, like really big jacks, would probably not turn up their noses at a parrotfish snack. When those guys go hunting every fish on the reef swims away faster than you ever thought possible.
Laura, what you want are thick booties that you try on with your fins when you buy them.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2575) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 9:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Urchin link and coral health

http://www.lsc.usgs.gov/SPN.asp?StudyPlanNum=01094

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan - BSDME (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #250) on Friday, February 10, 2006 - 9:04 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Another link to reef health is

http://www.agrra.org/

The urchins are one of the items tracked by AGRRA

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Laura a.k.a. Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #309) on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 - 7:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

A sobering article from the latest Smithsonian issue:

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/february/reefs.php?page=1

Does anyone know how far back Bonaire reef records go?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Frank (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #391) on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 12:38 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Laura,

Thanks for the link. I have dived New Providence Island (Nassau) and was astounded by the condition of the reefs. Had done most of my previous diving up until then on Bonaire and couldn't wait to go back. Our dive operator took us to some of the better preserved sites but the reefs are mostly dead. The description of the elkhorn and staghorn corals parallels Bonaire though. There were healthy stands only a few years ago, now mostly rubble.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Snowfire (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #482) on Saturday, January 26, 2008 - 10:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here's a more recent article that mentions the urchin comeback:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ii8MnvCyCwrveqd9-132ClLLSTwAD8UCH4CG0

 


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