Zayas Santiago, Carmen C.

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    Landscape structure in two reefs in La Parguera and the distribution of the Lytechinus variegatus
    (2011) Zayas Santiago, Carmen C.; Armstrong, Roy A.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Yoshioka, Paul; Gilbes, Fernando; Aponte, Nilda; Department of Marine Sciences; Arroyo, José
    Landscape ecology techniques are being used to determine patterns that influence natural processes in terrestrial ecosystems extensively. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the landscape structure of the reefs in La Parguera using remote sensing technology. The overall project has a particular focus on seagrass beds and the Lytechinus variegatus, this organism is a common inhabitant of the seagrass meadows. An IKONOS image from 2006 was used; the area of each reef covers approximately 1 km2 at a spatial resolution of 1 m. Two benthic maps were generated with seven classes using a supervised classification after applying a water column correction. Landscape structure analysis was executed using FRAGSTATS software, to calculate different metrics in combination with field assessments of sea urchin distribution. The metrics were analyzed at two different levels; class level with nine indices selected and landscape level with eleven indices. The abundance of sea urchins in Enrique Reef was 1.32 #urchin/m2 while in Laurel the abundance was is 0.48 #urchin/m2. Results show sea urchin aggregation in Enrique Reef and an even distribution in Laurel Reef. These data can be used to assess the condition of seagrass beds for change detection analysis and as a tool for restoration and conservation.