Abstract
Movement and feeding were studied in a population of red sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus (Agassiz, 1863), found within and immediately seaward of a kelp forest offshore from Santa Cruz, California, USA. Mean sea urchin movements varied from 7.5 cm/day inside the kelp forest to over 50 cm/day at 15 and 100 m outside the kelp forest. The percentage of sea urchins feeding decreased from 66% inside the kelp forest to 16 and 15% at 15 and 100 m outside the kelp forest. These data indicate that movement by these sea urchins is a response to a low food supply.
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Communicated by J.S. Pearse, Santa Cruz
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Mattison, J.E., Trent, J.D., Shanks, A.L. et al. Movement and feeding activity of red sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) adjacent to a kelp forest. Mar. Biol. 39, 25–30 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395589
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395589