Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of macrophyte diet and initial size on the survival and somatic growth of sub-adult Strongylocentrotus purpuratus: a laboratory experimental approach

  • Published:
Journal of Applied Phycology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Recently recruited urchins from the same brood, but with different initial sizes, may respond differently to similar environmental factors. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the effects of starvation and diet on the survival, growth rates in size and weight, and gonad index among small and large sub-adult purple sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Small urchins ranged from 7.3 to 7.8 mm and large urchins from 11.8 to 14.1 mm (test diameters). Two independent experiments were performed. In the first experiment, sea urchins were fed during 22 weeks on Egregia menziesii (ad libitum) and for only 1 day month−1 (starved condition). Feeding regime significantly affected survival, somatic growth rate in size and weight, and gonad index, with higher means in the ad libitum treatments than in starving conditions. A recurrent cannibalism event by conspecifics occurred in small sea urchins under starving conditions. In the second experiment, sea urchins were fed during 13 weeks ad libitum with four diets: kelp (E. menziesii), coralline algae (Bossiella orbigniana), eelgrass (Phyllospadix scouleri) and a mixed diet of the three species. Survival was not affected by diet or urchin size, but diet significantly affected somatic growth rate in size and weight and gonad index. Kelp promoted the highest growth rate (2.23 ± 0.21 mm month−1), the mixed diet produced an intermediate growth (1.26 ± 0.21 mm month−1), while the lowest values corresponded to coralline algae and the eelgrass (0.30 ± 0.12 and 0.10 ± 0.03 mm month−1, respectively, means ± SE). The mean growth rate of small urchins (averaging all diets) was higher than in large specimens (1.17 ± 0.37 and 0.77 ± 0.28 mm month−1, respectively).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bernstein BB, Williams BE, Mann KH (1981) The role of behavioral responses to predators in modifying urchin’s (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) destructive grazing and seasonal foraging patterns. Mar Biol 63:39–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breen PA, Mann KH (1976) Destructive grazing of kelp by sea urchins in eastern Canada. J Fish Res Board Can 33:1278–1283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crickmore MA (2009) The molecular basis of size differences. Science 326:1360–1361

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daggett TL, Pearce CM, Tingley M, Robinson SMC, Chopin T (2005) Effect of prepared and macroalgal diets and seed stock source on somatic growth of juvenile green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). Aquaculture 244:263–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dayton PK, Tegner M (1984) Catastrophic storms, El Niño, and patch stability in a southern California kelp community. Science 224:283–284

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA (1973) Estimating growth and mortality rates from size data. Oecologia 11:281–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA (1977) An experimental analysis of sea urchin dynamics and community interactions on a rock jetty. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 27:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA (1996) Adaptative aspects of phenotypic plasticity in echinoderms. Oceanol Acta 19:347–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA (2007) Growth and survival of postsettlement sea urchins. In: Lawrence JM (ed) Edible sea urchins: biology and ecology. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 95–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebert TA, Russell MP (1993) Growth and mortality of subttidal red sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) at San Nicolas Island, California, USA: problems with models. Mar Biol 117:79–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards PB, Ebert TA (1991) Plastic responses to limited food availability and spine damage in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 145:205–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frantzis A, Grémare A (1992) Ingestion, absorption, and growth rates of Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) fed different macrophytes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 95:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman A (2006) Size-dependent trait-mediated indirect interactions among sea urchin herbivores. Behav Ecol 17:182–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gliwicz ZM (2003) Between hazards of starvation and risk of predation: the ecology of offshore animals. In: Kinne O (ed) Excellence in ecology 12. International Ecology Institute, Oldendorf/Luhe, p 379

    Google Scholar 

  • Goecker ME, Heck KL Jr, Velentine JF (2005) Effects of nitrogen concentrations in turtlegrass Thalassia testudinum on consumption by the bucktooth parrotfish Sparisoma radians. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 286:239–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosjean Ph, Spirlet Ch, Jangoux M (1996) Experimental study of growth in the echinoid Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816) (Echinodermata). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 201:173–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iken K, Dubois A (2006) Kelp-grazer interactions in Kachemak Bay, Alaska: grazing activity and chemical defenses and resource allocation in selected kelp species. N Pac Res Board Final Rep 407:90

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JB (2001) What was natural in the coastal oceans? Proc Natl Acad Sci 98:5411–5418

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings LB, Hunt HL (2010) Settlement, recruitment and potential predators and competitors of juvenile echinoderms in the rocky subtidal zone. Mar Biol 157:307–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenner MC (1992) Population dynamics of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus in a central California kelp forest: recruitment, mortality, growth, and diet. Mar Biol 112:107–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladah LB, Zertuche JA (2007) Survival of microscopic stages of a perennial kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) from the center and the southern extreme of its range in the Northern Hemisphere after exposure to simulated El Niño stress. Mar Biol 152:677–686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lares MT, Pomory CM (1998) Use of body components during starvation in Lytechinus variegatus (Lamarck) (Echinodermata: Echinoidea). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 225:99–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau DCC, Lau SCK, Qian P-Y, Qiu J-W (2009) Morphological plasticity and resource allocation in response to food limitation and hyposalinity in a sea urchin. J Shellfish Res 28:383–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JM (1975) On the relationship between marine plants and sea urchins. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 13:213–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JM (1987) A functional biology of echinoderms. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JM (2001) The edible sea urchins. In: Lawrence JM (ed) Edible sea urchins: biology and ecology. Elsevier Science, New York, pp 1–4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence JM, Lane JM (1982) The utilization of nutrients by postmetamorphic echinoderms. In: Jangoux M, Lawrence JM (eds) Echinoderm nutrition. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 331–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Leighton DL (1971) Grazing activities of benthic invertebrates in southern California kelp beds. Nova Hedwigia 32:421–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Levitan DR (1991) Skeletal changes in the test and jaws of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in response to food limitation. Mar Biol 111:431–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattson WJ Jr (1980) Herbivory in relation to plant nitrogen content. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 11:119–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McShane PE, Anderson OF (1997) Resource allocation and growth rates in the sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus (Echinoidea: Echinometridae). Mar Biol 128:657–663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meidel SK, Scheibling RE (1999) Effects of food type and ration on reproductive maturation and growth of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Mar Biol 134:155–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munch SB, Mangel M, Conover DO (2003) Quantifiying natural selection on body size from field data: winter mortality in Menidia menidia. Ecology 84:2168–2177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neighbors MA, Horn MH (1991) Nutritional quality of macrophytes eaten and not eaten by two temperate-zone herbivorous fishes: a multivariate comparison. Mar Biol 108:471–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishizaki MT, Ackerman JD (2004) Juvenile-adult associations in sea urchins Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. droebachiensis: is nutrition involved? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 268:93–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT, Vadas RL (1969a) Calorific values of benthic marine algae and their postulated relation to invertebrate food preference. Mar Biol 4:79–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT, Vadas RL (1969b) The effects of grazing by sea urchins, Strongylocentortus spp. on benthic algal populations. Limnol Oceanogr 14:710–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pederson HG, Johnson CR (2006) Predation of the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma by rock lobsters (Jasus edwardsii) in no-take marine reserves. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 336:120–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Persson L (1985) Asymmetrical competition: are larger animals competitively superior? Am Nat 126:261–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn BG (1965) Predation in sea urchins. Bull Mar Sci 15:259–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn GP, Keough MJ (2003) Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 537

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts-Regan DL, Scheibling RE, Jellett JF (1988) Natural and experimentally induced lesions of the body wall of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Dis Aquat Org 5:51–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowley RJ (1990) Newly settled sea urchins in a kelp bed and urchin barren ground: a comparison of growth and mortality. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 62:229–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolf VHW (2008) The impact of cannibalism in the prey on predator–prey systems. Ecology 89:3116–3127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salas-Garza A, Carpizo-Ituarte E, Parés-Sierra G, Martínez-López R, Quintanilla-Rodriguez R (2005) Producción de Juveniles de erizo Strongylocentrotus franciscanus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) en Baja California, México. Rev Biol Trop 53:345–355

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheibling RE, Stephenson RL (1984) Mass mortality of Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) off Nova Scotia, Canada. Mar Biol 78:153–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith BD, Botsford LW, Wing SR (1997) Estimation of growth and mortality parameters from size frequency distributions lacking age patterns: the red sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) as an example. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 55:1236–1247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sogard SM (1997) Size-selective mortality in the juvenile stage of teleost fishes: a review. Bull Mar Sci 60:1129–1157

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg PD (1988) The effects of quantitative and qualitative variation in phenolic compounds on feeding in three species of marine invertebrate herbivores. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 120:221–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tegner MJ, Dayton PK, Edwards PB, Riser KL (1995) Sea urchin cavitation of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera C. Agardh) holdfasts and its effects on kelp mortality across a large California forest. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 191:83–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tegner MJ, Dayton PK, Edwards PB, Riser KL (1996) Is there evidence for long-term climatic change in southern California kelp forests? CalCOFI Rep 37:111–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornber CS, Jones E, Stachowicz JJ (2008) Differences in herbivore feeding preferences across a vertical intertidal gradient. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 363:51–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yatsuya K, Nakahara H (2004) Density, growth and reproduction of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina (A. Agassiz) in two different adjacent habitats, the Sargassum area and Corallina Area. Fish Sci 70:233–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zapata O, McMillan C (1979) Phenolic acids in seagrasses. Aquat Bot 7:307–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the University of Baja California (11va Convocatoria Interna), PROMEP (project no. 103.5/04/1317), and CONACyT-México (National Council for Science and Technology) under a Ph.D. scholarship to J. Sonnenholzner. We also thank Enrique Valenzuela, Filiberto Nuñez and Griselda Parés-Sierra for their technical assistance and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments to ensure the quality of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Ensenada, Mexico

    Jorge I. Sonnenholzner

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Apartado Postal #453, CP 22800, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

    Gabriela Montaño-Moctezuma, Ricardo Searcy-Bernal & Alfredo Salas-Garza

Authors
  1. Jorge I. Sonnenholzner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gabriela Montaño-Moctezuma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ricardo Searcy-Bernal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alfredo Salas-Garza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriela Montaño-Moctezuma.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sonnenholzner, J.I., Montaño-Moctezuma, G., Searcy-Bernal, R. et al. Effect of macrophyte diet and initial size on the survival and somatic growth of sub-adult Strongylocentrotus purpuratus: a laboratory experimental approach. J Appl Phycol 23, 505–513 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9619-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9619-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation