<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
  <dc:contributor>Brenda H. Konar</dc:contributor>
  <dc:creator>Ben Weitzman</dc:creator>
  <dc:date>2021</dc:date>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Shifts between the alternate stable states of sea urchin barren grounds and kelp forests correspond to sea urchin density. In the Aleutian Archipelago, green sea urchins&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Strongylocentrotus polyacanthus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;are the dominant herbivores that graze kelp forests. Sea urchin recruitment is an important driver that influences sea urchin density, particularly in the absence of top-down control from a keystone predator such as the sea otter&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Enhydra lutris&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;. To understand how the biological community may influence patterns of sea urchin recruitment, we compared sea urchin recruit (size ≤20 mm) densities with biomass of other benthic organisms in both barren ground and kelp forest habitats at 9 islands across the Aleutian Archipelago. Patterns of biological community structure between the 2 habitats did not explain patterns of sea urchin recruits; however, the same 10 specific taxa were found to correlate with sea urchin recruits in each habitat. Taxa that showed strong positive correlations included&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Codium, Constantinea, Schizymenia,&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;and hydrozoans, while strong negative correlations were observed with&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Pachyarthron&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Pugettia&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Weak positive correlations were observed with&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Alcyonidium&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;and ascidiaceans in both habitats, while weak variable relationships were detected with&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Polysiphonia&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Corallina&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;between habitats. The observed species-specific relationships may be due to small sea urchin displacement by larger conspecifics, larval responses to settlement cues, post-settlement survival via biogenic refugia, or potentially predation. These potential species-specific interactions were apparent, regardless of habitat, and it can be inferred that they would be preserved in the presence or absence of keystone predation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
  <dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
  <dc:identifier>10.3354/meps13621</dc:identifier>
  <dc:language>en</dc:language>
  <dc:publisher>Inter-Research Science Publisher</dc:publisher>
  <dc:title>Biological correlates of sea urchin recruitment in kelp forest and urchin barren habitats</dc:title>
  <dc:type>article</dc:type>
</oai_dc:dc>