Effects of herbivory by the urchin Diadema antillarum on early restoration success of the coral Acropora cervicornis in the central Caribbean

Abstract

Herbivory is a key process well-known to maintain a coral-dominated state, and in the Caribbean Sea, the long-spine urchin Diadema antillarum is thought to aid coral success by removing algae from seafloor substrate that might otherwise outcompete coral outplants. In this study, we conducted a three-month manipulative experiment in southeastern Dominican Republic to test the effect of Diadema antillarum density on percent living tissue and growth rate of outplanted fragments of the critically endangered coral species Acropora cervicornis.