Abundance of Diadema antillarum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) on the coast of Venezuela: 1975-2003

Diadema antillarum is a shallow-water sea-urchin from the tropical Atlantic whose populations almost disappeared in 1983-84 because of widespread mortalities which reached 87-100 %. In Venezuela, urchin population densities before the mortality event were comparable to those of other Caribbean regions; however, later abundancies remain unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the recent densities of certain D. antillarum populations along the Venezuelan coasts and compare the densities at the Parque Nacional Mochima before and after the mortality.

Diadema antillarum，一种栖息于热带大西洋浅水区域的刺参，其种群在1983-84年间因普遍的死亡率而几乎消失，死亡率高达87-100%。在委内瑞拉，该刺参种群在死亡事件发生前的密度与其他加勒比地区相当；然而，此后其丰度情况仍属未知。本研究旨在评估委内瑞拉沿海某些D. antillarum种群近期密度，并比较莫奇马国家公园（Parque Nacional Mochima）在死亡事件前后密度变化。