large coral cover and high benthic diversity
(Hughes, 1994). This was largely due to the high
abundance of one grazing echinoid Diadema antillarum,
which held in check the growth of algae on
the reef. After the decline of fish predators and
competitors, Diadema increased (Hughes, 1994).
However, after an intensive hurricane at the
beginning of the 1980s the coral cover decreased
between 1980 and 1993 from 52 to 3%, while the
cover of benthic macroalgae increased from 4 to
92%, shifting the system from a coral dominated
to an algal dominated ecosystem (Hughes, 1994).
Hughes (1994) argues that this shift is partly
explained by the fact that in 1983, Diadema suffered
a mass mortality due to a species-specific
pathogen reducing the population by 99%, and
partly a result of loss of buffering capacity due to