Use of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) as a shelter for non-cryptobenthic juvenile reef fi
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Use of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) as a shelter for non-cryptobenthic juvenile reef fishes H. Grande 1
&
M. Reis 2 & N. F. Carvalho 1
Received: 19 January 2020 / Revised: 29 April 2020 / Accepted: 1 May 2020 # Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung 2020
Abstract Marine species can act as biogenic sources of habitat structures, increasing the web of interactions between reef fishes and the benthic environment. Among these species, sea urchins seem to play an ecological role that goes beyond the dynamics of coralalgal interaction on reef ecosystems. In this paper, we describe the commensal behavior of juveniles of two non-cryptobenthic reef fishes (Haemulon parra and Abudefduf saxatilis) with the sea urchin Diadema antillarum on sandstone reefs in Northeastern Brazil. Behavioral observations in situ raise the assumption that D. antillarum may provide an alternative source of shelter and therefore influence microhabitat complexity, particularly, for juvenile reef fishes. Keywords Shelter availability . Benthic complexity . Predation . Habitat degradation
Introduction Habitat structure is an environmental factor usually related to the abundance and distribution of reef fishes (Luckhurst and Luckhurst 1978; Graham and Nash 2013). For instance, certain organisms may alter the environment by acting as biogenic sources of habitat structures (Jones et al. 1994, 1997). These individuals act as elements of microhabitats, and are therefore described as ecosystem engineers (Jones et al. 1994). Furthermore, species functioning as biogenic sources may influence several qualitative aspects of habitat complexity, including potential refuge from predators (Dahlgren and Eggleston 2000).
Communicated by S. E. Lluch-Cota Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01081-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * H. Grande [email protected] 1
Departamento de Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, Praça do Oceanográfico 191, São Paulo, SP 05548-120, Brazil
2
Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Sea urchins are commonly known for their ecological importance on coral reefs, mostly due to coral-algal interaction (Jones and Andrew 1990; Lessios et al. 2001). However, sea urchins are also biogenic sources of habitat structures, providing a unique and valuable habitat for smaller fishes (Sakashita 1992). While symbiotic commensal behavior among sea urchins and fishes has been well documented, most of these interactions involve cryptobenthic fishes, more commonly with the families Apogonidae, Gobiesocidae, and Gobiidae (Hartney and Grorud 2002; Alvarado 2008; Gratwicke and Speight 2005; Karplus 2014; Giglio et al. 2018). The black long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) has been characterized as an important keystone species in shallo
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