Back in summer 2012 I went to live in Tenerife for 6 weeks to complete my PADI assisstant instructor SCUBA diving course at Amarilla Divers school. Beside having a awesome time in the sun I completed 50+ dives and learnt valuable diving skills.
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| Me diving at El Puerto, Tenerife (2012) |
During the dives I noticed a huge abundance of Black Long-spined Sea Urchins (Diadema antillarum). Rates of abundance in some locations were as high as 200+ in a 10m x 10m space. After a short amount of research I learned to urchins were an invasive species which were highly successful due to lack of predation and competition in non-native habitats. They graze on algae and can prevent overgrowth however when urchin populations exceed healthy levels they cause overgrazing effects resulting in "bleach" white reefs.
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| Black Long-spined Sea Urchins (Diadema antillarum) |
After talking to my fellow diving buddies we decided to investigate the impact the urchins were having on the reefs in Tenerife. We started the Project back in May 2012 and named it urchin beAWARE and set up a page on the PADI Project AWARE website (link below). Firstly we marked two 10x10 metre zones. One zone acted as an untouched control and the other was the test area where all the urchins were removed. We then logged, every week, the variety, numbers and differences of the benthic community seen in the both the zones. Once it became clear that a positive impact was produced from the removal of the urchin species from this zone the urchins could be removed from the whole reef.
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| Clearing the urchins from the test zones |
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| "House reef" mapped with areas for urchin removal and assessment. |
Sadly this is where I left the project and my time in Tenerife was over however I remain in contact with Amarilla Divers and regular updates to the beAWARE page means I can see how the project is coming along. Chris Botting who is a permanent resident in Tenerife and at Amarilla Divers he runs the project and seems to be doing a through job at clearing the problem and documenting the results along the way. Here is a section of the latest news on the progress...
"The results and changes that we have seen in the reef is astonishing with some of Tenerife's rarest fish and crabs being spotted and multiple resident octopuses and moray eels moving in. The plant life growth that has occurred is remarkable with the reef rocks now covered in bushes and moss.The changes seen in the bio diversity is incredible!
It is an interesting example of how a species in its natural environment plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem but once out of its home environment becomes a pest!"
It was a experience to be part of the establishment of a project like this and see it develop into a success! One day I hope to go back to Tenerife and see the progress for myself.
