title: Prickly business: abundance of sea urchins on breakwaters and coral reefs in Dubai.
abstract: Echinometra mathaei is a common echinoid on tropical reefs and where abundant plays an important role in the control of algal communities. Despite high prevalence of E. mathaei on southern Persian/Arabian Gulf reefs, their abundance and distribution is poorly known. Spatial and temporal patterns in population abundance were examined at 12 sites between breakwater and natural reef habitats in Dubai (UAE) every 3 months from 2008 to 2010. Within the breakwater habitat, densities were greatest at shallow wave-exposed sites, and reduced with both decreasing wave-exposure and increasing depth. Interestingly, E. mathaei were significantly more abundant on exposed breakwaters than natural reef sites, presumably due to differences in habitat structure and benthic cover. Population abundances differed seasonally, with peak abundances during summer (July-September) and lower abundances in winter (December-February). Seasonal fluctuations are likely the result of peak annual recruitment pulses coupled with increased fish predation from summer to winter.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore. Electronic address: andrew.bauman@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.affiliation: Ecological Marine Services, Bundaberg, Queensland 4670, Australia.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dunshea
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolution Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Feary
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hoey
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D057894:Coral Reefs; D019156:Indian Ocean; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000502:physiology*; D014479:United Arab Emirates
keywords: Coral reefs; Echinometra mathaei; Persian Gulf; Sea urchin; Spatio–temporal