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Habitat and Scale Shape the Demographic Fate of the Keystone Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus in Mediterranean Macrophyte Communities

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  • Patricia Prado
  • Fiona Tomas
  • Stefania Pinna
  • Simone Farina
  • Guillem Roca
  • Giulia Ceccherelli
  • Javier Romero
  • Teresa Alcoverro

Abstract

Demographic processes exert different degrees of control as individuals grow, and in species that span several habitats and spatial scales, this can influence our ability to predict their population at a particular life-history stage given the previous life stage. In particular, when keystone species are involved, this relative coupling between demographic stages can have significant implications for the functioning of ecosystems. We examined benthic and pelagic abundances of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in order to: 1) understand the main life-history bottlenecks by observing the degree of coupling between demographic stages; and 2) explore the processes driving these linkages. P. lividus is the dominant invertebrate herbivore in the Mediterranean Sea, and has been repeatedly observed to overgraze shallow beds of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and rocky macroalgal communities. We used a hierarchical sampling design at different spatial scales (100 s, 10 s and

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia Prado & Fiona Tomas & Stefania Pinna & Simone Farina & Guillem Roca & Giulia Ceccherelli & Javier Romero & Teresa Alcoverro, 2012. "Habitat and Scale Shape the Demographic Fate of the Keystone Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus in Mediterranean Macrophyte Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(4), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0035170
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035170
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    1. T. P. Hughes & A. H. Baird & E. A. Dinsdale & N. A. Moltschaniwskyj & M. S. Pratchett & J. E. Tanner & B. L. Willis, 1999. "Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef," Nature, Nature, vol. 397(6714), pages 59-63, January.
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