CHARACTERIZATION OF THE POPULATION OF THE LONGSPINED SEA URCHIN DIADEMA ANTILLARUM PHILIPPI, 1845 (ECHINODERMATA: ECHINOIDEA) IN THE WEST OF CAYO SANTA MARÍA, VILLA CLARA, CUBA

• Autores: Campillo, Diana Martín, Arias Barreto, Rodolfo, Rodríguez Hernández, Elena, Armiñana García, Rafael, Fimia Duarte, Rigoberto, Iannacone, José
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2018
• Institución: Universidad Ricardo Palma
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Ricardo Palma
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:oai.revistas.urp.edu.pe:article/1693
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.urp.edu.pe/index.php/Biotempo/article/view/1693
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto

Th e knowledge of animal species whose populations are being aff ected by their habitats is a real need to conserve biologicaldiversity. Th e populations of black-spined sea urchins Diadema antillarum from the Caribbean and the western Atlanticsuff ered massive mortality that began in January 1983 and lasted until February 1984. In Cuba there is only one record,in a very specifi c locality of West Havana, on the state of populations of D. antillarum before the mortality event. In theprovince of Villa Clara, there have been no population studies of the species and there are only references to the presenceof D. antillarum in 15 localities of the province. Observations made in the West of Cayo Santa María have suggested theexistence of a remarkable abundance which could mean a possible recovery of the species. Th is has laid the foundationsfor the characterization of the D. antillarum population in the west of Cayo Santa María. Samples were taken June 28-30, 2016. Two types of transects were carried out: band transects for urchin studies and linear intercept transects formacroalgae cover, both with a length of 10 m and a total of 28. It is concluded that in the west of Cayo Santa María there is an abundant population of D. antillarum with a predominance of adult specimens, although not at the pre-mortalitylevels of 1983. The structure of the population is biased towards individuals of great size and corresponds to those ofnearby localities in the geographical area.