Ruber Rodríguez Barreras

Ruber Rodríguez Barreras
University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón | UPRB · Department of Biology

PhD

About

48
Publications
17,534
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362
Citations
Additional affiliations
August 2015 - December 2022
University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)
August 2015 - December 2021
University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)
August 2015 - December 2020
University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón
Position
  • Professor

Publications

Publications (48)
Article
Anthropogenic activities have created new marine habitats through artificial basaltic barriers intended to prevent coastal erosion. These barriers support a diverse range of species, including the rock-boring sea urchin Echinometra lucunter, important for controlling algae and providing habitat in tropical limestone areas. This study assessed the s...
Article
Full-text available
Background Understanding the dynamics of the gut microbiota in sea urchins is crucial for comprehending the ecological balance in marine ecosystems. The gut microbiota plays a vital role in nutrient metabolism, immune system modulation, and pathogen protection. The microbial composition and dynamics of naturally occurring sea urchin Tripneustes ven...
Article
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Introduction In recent decades, Caribbean coral reefs have lost many vital marine species due to diseases. The well-documented mass mortality event of the long-spined black sea urchin Diadema antillarum in the early 1980s stands out among these collapses. This die-off killed over 90% of D. antillarum changing the reefscape from coral to algal-domin...
Article
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Introduction: Echinoderms, an integral component of marine ecosystems worldwide, have captivated scientific interest for centuries. Despite this longstanding attention, comprehending key facets such as trophic relationships, diet composition, and host-microbiota relationships still represents a challenge using traditional techniques. Recent years,...
Article
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Pervasive epizootic events have had a significant impact on marine invertebrates throughout the Caribbean, leading to severe population declines and consequential ecological implications. One such event was the regional collapse of herbivory, partly caused by the Diadema antillarum mortality event in 1983-84, resulting in a trophic cascade and alte...
Article
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Fundamento: En la carrera de Medicina es necesario formar profesionales con pensamiento creativo que permita la solución de problemas vinculados con el ejercicio de su profesión. La Genética Médica aporta la posibilidad de reflexionar y crear soluciones creativas. Objetivo: Proponer actividades que posibiliten el aprendizaje creativo en estudiante...
Article
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Caribbean sea urchins are marine invertebrates that have experienced a decline over the years. Studies on sea urchins have focused primarily on the microbiome of the coelomic fluid or the gut microbiota. In this study, the epibiota community associated with four wild Caribbean sea urchin species, Lytechinus variegatus, Echinometra lucunter, Tripneu...
Article
Full-text available
Sea urchins play a critical role in marine ecosystems, as they actively participate in maintaining the balance between coral and algae. We performed the first in-depth survey of the microbiota associated with four free-living populations of Caribbean sea urchins: Lytechinus variegatus, Echinometra lucunter, Tripneustes ventricosus, and Diadema anti...
Article
Detailed information of trophic interactions among consumer-resources in food webs is usually limited due to the lack of accurate identification of eaten food resources. The use of DNA-metabarcoding has been proven useful for molecular identification of the numerous taxa present in stomach contents. Here, we characterize the diet and trophic behavi...
Article
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The introduction of exotic fishes in streams and water reservoirs has modified autochthonous freshwater fish communities in Puerto Rico. There are approximately 46 fish species in inland waters, and most of them were introduced during the last century. We here summarize relevant information on 46 freshwater fish species reported for the island. App...
Article
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We recorded the occurrence of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus in the inland waters of southeastern Puerto Rico for the first time, increasing the number of exotic freshwater fish on the island. Two individuals of C. gariepinus were collected in the municipality of Guayama and deposited in a zoology collection. This opportunistic species repr...
Article
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Caribbean reefs have suffered decline in coral cover in recent decades due to recurrent anthropogenic and natural stressors. The regional collapse of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum, combined with overfishing, has contributed to a phase-shift of coral reef communities towards fleshy macroalgal dominance. Here, we examine the population dynamics o...
Article
This study evaluates and projects the effect of experimental removal of two species of wrasses, Thalassoma bifasciatum and Halichoeres bivittatus, on the demographic structure of the Caribbean sea urchin Diadema antillarum. For census periods ‘before’ and ‘after’ fish removal at treatment and un-manipulated control sites, size-based matrix populati...
Article
Full-text available
The species Echinometra lucunter, Echinometra viridis, Lytechinus variegatus, Tripneustes ventricosus, and Diadema antillarum are the most common sea urchins of littoral habitats in the Caribbean. T. ventricosus and L. variegatus are associated with seagrass beds, while the other three species usually inhabit hardground substrates. Food preferences...
Article
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A reliable and harmless mark–recapture method provides valuable information for the management of commercial sea cucumber species. Nevertheless, marking and tracking sea cucumbers is notoriously difficult and represents a serious challenge. In this study, we tested one external and one internal tag in the sea cucumber Holothuria grisea. A passive i...
Article
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Sea urchins are important grazers and influence reef development in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). Diadema mexicanum and Eucidaris thouarsii are the most important sea urchins on the Ecuadorian coastal reefs. This study provided a trophic scenario for these two species of echinoids in the coral-rocky reef bottoms of the Ecuadorian coast, using...
Data
C:N ratio Mean ±standard deviation values of C:N ratios of algal species and sea urchins taken from of Los Ahorcados (LA) and Perpetuo Socorro (PS).
Research
Full-text available
Three decades after its population collapse, the sea urchin Diadema antillarum has yet to return to pre-mortality densities in most Caribbean localities. Circumstantial evidence suggests high post-settlement mortality due to predation as a potential mechanism to explain the lack of, or the slow recovery of this sea urchin. In this study we experime...
Article
Full-text available
The major goal of this study was to provide valuable information about the effectiveness of tagging the whitish sea urchin Tripneustes ventricosus in semi-captivity conditions using one type of internal mark. A field experimental study was conducted to assess the effect of Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT) tagging on the survival and growth rat...
Article
Full-text available
Populations of Acropora cervicornis have collapsed throughout the Caribbean. This situation has prompted the initiation of many restoration efforts; yet, there are insufficient demographic data and analyses to effectively guide these initiatives. In this study we assessed the spatiotemporal variability of A. cervicornis vital rates. We also develop...
Article
Full-text available
Multiple tagging devices have been developed for long-term studies and estimating demographic parameters in sea urchins. In this study, we evaluated the use of passive integrated transponders (PIT-tag), and two types of nylon tags (T-bar and S-tag) in the sea urchin Diadema antillarum by measuring retention rate and apparent survival. The PIT-tags...
Article
Full-text available
The mass mortality suffered by the sea urchin Diadema antillarum between 1983–1984 is considered one of the major causes of coral reef degradation in the Caribbean. Its near disappearance resulted in a disproportionate growth of macroalgae that has led to a ‘phase shift’ from coral-to-algal dominated reefs. The close relationship between this echin...
Article
Full-text available
The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum has been the focus of multiple studies since the mass mortality event in the 1980s. The recovery of this key herbivore in the wider Caribbean is essential for the well-being of coral reefs. This study examined the population density and structure of D. antillarum at seven northern fringing reefs of Puer...
Article
Full-text available
An effective tagging technique represents a challenge for long-term studies in sea cucumbers. These studies require accurate identification, high tag retention and no adverse effects on vital rates or performance of the tagged individuals. We tested the retention rate of one external and one internal tag in the sea cucumber Holothuria mexicana. The...
Article
Full-text available
The major goal of this study was to provide valuable information about the effectiveness of tagging the whitish sea urchin Tripneustes ventricosus in semi-captivity conditions using one type of internal mark. A field experimental study was conducted to assess the effect of Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT) tagging on the survival and growth rat...
Article
Full-text available
The sea urchin Diadema africanum is considered a key herbivore in sublittoral ecosystems of the Canary Islands. Spatial and temporal variability in population structure was carried out at Gran Canaria. We performed a morphometric and population density analysis during 2005, 2006 and 2007 at four sites in zones of Gran Canaria. The study considered...
Article
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This paper provides the most up to date list of the Cuban echinoid fauna. Habitat, depth range, distribution and localities in Cuba are presented for this group. I present here the most recent list of shallow-water sea urchins for the Cuban Archipelago. This catalogue increases the number of shallow-water sea urchins for Cuba to 23 species (subspec...
Chapter
Full-text available
We investigated the current patterns of diversity by country and by class of echinoderms, and analyzed their biogeographical, depth, and habitat or substratum affinities, using the database of the appendix of this book. Traditionally, the area has been divided into five biogeographical Regions and nine Provinces that cover a wide climate range. Cur...
Article
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Abstract: This review is based on the most recent taxonomic classification of extant Cuban Crinoidea. Existing material in natural history collections in Cuba was analyzed in detail and accurately reflects species presence. The crinoid literature was also reviewed. Several previously unpublished observations of species found in waters off Cuba have...
Article
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We present here the most updated list of sea urchins for Puerto Rico. We report, for the first time, the occurrence of the irregular echinoids Paraster floridiensis and Clypeaster subdepressus for the island. These reports increase the number of shallow water echinoid species for Puerto Ricoto to 19 and expand the known regional distribution range...
Book
Full-text available
14.1 Introduction The island of Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern part of the Caribbean Sea (18°13 0 N–66°28 0 W). Puerto Rico is considered an archipelago formed by the main island and other small islands mainly off its eastern and southern coastlines (Fig. 14.1). The eastern shelf is very shallow (typically less than 30 m in depth) and d...
Article
Full-text available
We report for the first time the occurrence of the irregular sea urchin Echinoneus cyclostomus for Puerto Rico. This report increases the known regional distribution range of the species and the number of Puerto Rico shallow water echinoids to seventeen. In addition, we report a new locality for Cassidulus caribaearum, the other echinoid recently r...
Article
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For the first time, we report the occurrence of the irregular echinoid Cassidulus caribaearum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in Puerto Rico. This is also the first record of this species in the Greater Antilles. Until then it had only been observed in Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Belize, San Marteen and the US Virgin Islands. This novel information inc...
Article
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Echinoderms (Echinodermata) from western Archipelago Sabana-Camagüey, Cuba. The Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, central north region of Cuba, has been submitted to a significant tourist development, with the corresponding increase of hotel infrastructure and highways. We sampled 20 stations considering biotope variation in the macrolagoon and the exte...
Article
Full-text available
For first time we recorded an irregular sea urchin species, Paraster floridiensis, in cuban waters. In this way, we increased the number of cuban echinoids and the species distribution range.
Article
Full-text available
Se registra por primera vez para el archipiélago cubano la especie Holothuria princeps, con ello se amplía el rango de distribución de la especie.

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