Volume 77
Long-term monitoring of white sea urchins (Tripneustes ventricosus) and variegated sea urchins (Lytechinus variegatus) in the marine seagrass beds in Guadeloupe Island (Lesser Antilles)
Authors
Simone Mege, Didier Baltide, Sebastien Rives, Noemie Leger, Thibaut Glasser, and Claude Bouchon Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2024
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Seventh Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Gosier
Country: Guadeloupe, French West Indies
Abstract
The long-term fluctuations in the populations of white sea urchins (Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816)) and variegated sea urchins (Lytechinus variegatus (Lamarck, 1816)), primarily inhabiting the seagrass beds around the island of Guadeloupe, have been monitored by the National Park of Guadeloupe since 2025. This study presents results from three sites in the Bay of Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin, monitored annually since 2005. Two sites (Fajou Islet and Passe-à-Colas) have total protection status (core protection of the National Park), while the third site (Caret Islet) is in an area subject to fishing activities. The white sea urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus) is a species currently harvested in the Caribbean Islands (Pena et al., 2010), while the variegated sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) is not consumed on the island.