Chapter 14
Review of Echinoderm Research in Puerto
Rico, with the Focus on Biological
and Ecological Aspects
Stacey M. Williams, Milena Benavides-Serrato, Jose E. García-Arrarás, Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado and Ruber Rodríguez-Barreras
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 delimited in the north by a chain of small islands and emergent monoliths
that extend from Cabezas de San Juan to Culebra island (18°18
0 N–65°16
0 W),
27 km off the main island. The island of Vieques [or: Vieques Island] (18°07
0 N–
65°25
0 W) lies south of the eastern shelf. Numerous mangrove keys and an offshore
island (6 km), Caja de Muertos (1.54 km
2 ), characterize the southern coast of
S. M. Williams (&)
Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR),
Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, CR 11501-2060, USA
e-mail: stcmwilliams@gmail.com
M. Benavides-Serrato
Echinoderm Curator Museo de Historia Natural Marina de Colombia,
Biodiversity Marine Ecosystems (BEM), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas
y Costeras-INVEMAR, A.A 1016, Santa Marta, Colombia
e-mail: milena_benavides@invemar.org.co
J. E. García-Arrarás Á E. A. Hernández-Delgado Á R. Rodríguez-Barreras
Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico,
PO Box 23360 Río Piedras, San Juan, PR 00931-3360, USA
e-mail: jegarcia@hpcf.upr.edu
E. A. Hernández-Delgado
e-mail: coral_giac@yahoo.com
R. Rodríguez-Barreras
e-mail: ruber.rodriguez@hotmail.com
J. J. Alvarado and F. A. Solís-Marín (eds.), Echinoderm Research and Diversity
in Latin America, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20051-9_14,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
437
Review of Echinoderm Research in Puerto
Rico, with the Focus on Biological
and Ecological Aspects
Stacey M. Williams, Milena Benavides-Serrato, Jose E. García-Arrarás, Edwin A. Hernández-Delgado and Ruber Rodríguez-Barreras
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 delimited in the north by a chain of small islands and emergent monoliths
that extend from Cabezas de San Juan to Culebra island (18°18
0 N–65°16
0 W),
27 km off the main island. The island of Vieques [or: Vieques Island] (18°07
0 N–
65°25
0 W) lies south of the eastern shelf. Numerous mangrove keys and an offshore
island (6 km), Caja de Muertos (1.54 km
2 ), characterize the southern coast of
S. M. Williams (&)
Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR),
Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, CR 11501-2060, USA
e-mail: stcmwilliams@gmail.com
M. Benavides-Serrato
Echinoderm Curator Museo de Historia Natural Marina de Colombia,
Biodiversity Marine Ecosystems (BEM), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas
y Costeras-INVEMAR, A.A 1016, Santa Marta, Colombia
e-mail: milena_benavides@invemar.org.co
J. E. García-Arrarás Á E. A. Hernández-Delgado Á R. Rodríguez-Barreras
Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico,
PO Box 23360 Río Piedras, San Juan, PR 00931-3360, USA
e-mail: jegarcia@hpcf.upr.edu
E. A. Hernández-Delgado
e-mail: coral_giac@yahoo.com
R. Rodríguez-Barreras
e-mail: ruber.rodriguez@hotmail.com
J. J. Alvarado and F. A. Solís-Marín (eds.), Echinoderm Research and Diversity
in Latin America, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20051-9_14,
Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
437