Interactions between sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and their predators in field and laboratory experiments

Abstract

Field observations and manipulative experiments in a nearshore cobble bed (2 to 3 m below mean low water) at Eagle Head, Nova Scotia, Canada, between 1984 and 1986, showed that small juveniles ofStrongylocentrotus droebachiensis (3 to 6 mm diam) sheltering beneath cobbles had a refuge from predators such as rock crabs, small lobsters, and fish. Sea urchins gradually outgrew these refuges and small adults (25 to 30 mm) required larger rocks as shelter from predators, particularly large cancrid crabs. Small juveniles were usually solitary and well dispersed beneath cobbles, whereas small adults tended to aggregate on the undersides and in the interstices of boulders. These aggregations may develop passively as sea urchins accumulate in suitablysized refuges. Chemotaxis experiments indicate that juvenileS. droebachiensis are repelled by waterborne stimuli from conspecifics. In a factorial experiment, effects of the presence of potential predators (rock crabs and lobsters) and/or food (kelp) on the behaviour of large juvenile (10 to 15 mm) and small adult sea urchins were examined in flowing seawater tanks. Both size classes formed exposed feeding aggregations when kelp was provided as food, irrespective of the presence or absence of predators. In the absence of kelp, each size class responded differently to the presence of a predator: juveniles became more cryptic, whereas adults aggregated on the tank sides. Increased movement to the sides of a tank in the presence of a predator may reflect a flight response, since chemotaxis experiments indicated thatS. droebachiensis is repelled by waterborne chemical stimuli from predators. Observational and experimental data suggest that predation at the late juvenile and early adult stages may influence population structure, distribution and abundance ofS. droebachiensis.