| Title: | A novel system for intensive Diadema antillarum propagation as a step towards population enhancement |
| Author(s): | Pilnick AR; O'Neil KL; Moe M; Patterson JT; |
| Address: | "School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida/IFAS, 103 Black Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. apilnick@ufl.edu. Center for Conservation, The Florida Aquarium, 529 Estuary Shore Lane, Apollo Beach, FL, 33572, USA. School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida/IFAS, 7922 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32603, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-90564-1 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum was once an abundant reef grazing herbivore throughout the Caribbean. During the early 1980s, D. antillarum populations were reduced by > 93% due to an undescribed disease. This event resulted in a lack of functional reef herbivory and contributed to ongoing ecological shifts from hard coral towards macroalgae dominated reefs. Limited natural recovery has increased interest in a range of strategies for augmenting herbivory. An area of focus has been developing scalable ex situ methods for rearing D. antillarum from gametes. The ultimate use of such a tool would be exploring hatchery origin restocking strategies. Intensive ex situ aquaculture is a potentially viable, yet difficult, method for producing D. antillarum at scales necessary to facilitate restocking. Here we describe a purpose-built, novel recirculating aquaculture system and the broodstock management and larval culture process that has produced multiple D. antillarum cohorts, and which has the potential for practical application in a dedicated hatchery setting. Adult animals held in captivity can be induced to spawn year-round, with some evidence for annual and lunar periodicity. Fecundity and fertilization rates are both consistently very high, yet challenges persist in both late stage larval development and early post-settlement survival. Initial success was realized with production of 100 juvenile D. antillarum from ~ 1200 competent larvae. While the system we describe requires a significant level of investment and technical expertise, this work advances D. antillarum culture efforts in potential future hatchery settings and improves the viability of scalable ex situ production for population enhancement" |
| Keywords: | Animals Anthozoa/*growth & development *Coral Reefs *Ecosystem Herbivory Population Density Sea Urchins/*growth & development; |
| Notes: | "MedlinePilnick, Aaron R O'Neil, Keri L Moe, Martin Patterson, Joshua T eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2021/05/29 Sci Rep. 2021 May 27; 11(1):11244. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-90564-1" |
