Abstract
A laboratory experiment was used to examine whether a decrease in the width of sutures is the basis for shrinking of the test in echinoids under conditions of low food availability and whether the body condition of sea urchins is likely to be retained when shrinking occurs. This experiment was performed with H. erythrogramma specimens collected in January 1987 from Pt. Lillias in Corio Bay, Australia. Suture widths in the test and gonad volume were significantly less (relative to body volume) in Heliocidaris erythrogramma (Val.) in the low food treatment than the high food treatment after 4 mo. These results imply that sea urchins which shrink may have a poorer body condition and be less able to reproduce than sea urchins that do not shrink. A comparison of the expected to the observed changes in suture width showed that a decrease in suture width is involved in the shrinking of the test in H. erythrogramma and may be of sufficient magnitude to fully explain the observed reduction in test size. This suggests that the amount a sea urchin may shrink under low food conditions is constrained by the degree to which the sutures can be reduced in width.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrew, N. L. (1986). The interaction between diet and density in influencing reproductive output in the echinoid Evechinus chloroticus (Val.). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 97:63–79
Constable, A. J. (1990). An investigation of resource allocation in the sea urchin, Heliocidaris erythrogramma (Valenciennes). Ph. D. Thesis, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Deutler, F. (1926). Über das Wachstum des Seeigelskeletts. Zool. Jb. (Abt. Syst. Ökol. Geogr. Tiere) 48:119–200
Dix T. G. (1972). Biology of Evechinus chloroticus (Echinoidea: Echinometridae) from different localities. IV. Age, growth and size. N.Z. Jl, mar. Freshwat. Res. 6:48–68
Dubois, P., Chen, C.-P. (1989). Calcification in echinoderms. Echinoderm. Stud. 3:109–178
Ebert, T. A. (1967). Negative growth and longevity in the purple sea urchin Stongylocentrotus purpuratus (Stimpson). Science, N. Y., 157:557–558
Ebert, T. A. (1968). Growth rates of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus related to food availability and spine abrasion. Ecology 49:1075–1091
Ebert, T. A. (1988). Allometry, design and constraint of body components and of shape in sea urchins. J. nat. Hist. 22:1407–1425
Huitema, B. E. (1980). The analysis of covariance and its alternatives. Wiley-Interscience, New York
Hyman, L. H. (1955) The Invertebrates: IV. Echinodermata — the coelomate bilateria. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York
Klein, L. R., Currey, J. D. (1970). Echinoid skeleton: absence of a collagenous matrix. Science, N.Y. 169:1209–1210
Koboyashi, T., Takio, J. (1969). Calcification in sea urchins. 1. A tetracycline investigation of growth of the mature test in Strongylocentrotus intermedius. Calcif. Tissue Res. 4:210–223
Lawrence, J. M., Lane, J. M. (1982). The utilization of nutrients by postmetamorphic echinoderms. In: Jangoux; M., Lawrence, J. M. (eds.) Echinoderm nutrition. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p 331–371
Levitan, D. R. (1988). Density-dependent size regulation and negative growth in the sea urchin Diadema antillarum Philippi. Oecologia 76:627–629
Levitan, D. R. (1989). Density-dependent size regulation in Diadema antillarum: effects on fecundity and survivorship. Ecology 70:1414–1424
Levitan, D. R. (1991). Skeletal changes in the test and jaws of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum in response to food limitation. Mar. Biol. 111:431–435
Lewis, C. A., Ebert, T. A., Boren, M. E. (1990): Allocation of 45calcium to body components of staryed and fed purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). Mar. Biol. 105:213–222
Lovén, S. (1892). Echinologica. K. svenska VetenskAkad. Handl. 18:1–73
Märkel, K. (1981). Experimental morphology of coronar growth in regular echinoids. Zoomorphology 97:31–52
Märkel, K., Röser, U. (1983). Calcite-resorption in the spine of the echinoid Eucidaris tribuloides. Zoomorphology 103:43–58
Melville, R. V., Durham, J. W. (1966). Skeletal morphology. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on invertebrate paleontology, Part U. Echinodermata 3-1. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, Kansas and the Geological Society of America, New York, p. 220–257
Moss, M. L., Meehan, M. (1967). Sutural connective tissues in the test of an echinoid Arbacia punctulata. Acta Anat. 66:279–304
Pearse, J. S., Pearse, V. B. (1975). Growth zones in the echinoid skeleton. Am. Zool. 15:731–753
Régis, M. B. (1979). Croissance négative de l'Oursin, Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) (Echinoidea — Echinidae). C. r. hebd. Seanc. Acad. Sci., Paris (Série D) 288:355–358
Sebens, K. P. (1987). The ecology of indeterminate growth in individuals. A. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 18:371–407
Sokal, R. R., Rohlf, F. J. (1981) Biometry. 2nd edn. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco
Telford, M. (1985). Domes, arches and sea urchins: the skeletal architecture of echinoids (Echinodermata). Zoomorphology 105:114–124
Wilcox, R. R. (1987). Pairwise comparisons of J independent regression lines over a finite interval, simultaneous pairwise comparison of their parameters, and the Johnson-Neyman procedure. Br. J. Math. Stat. Psychol. 40:80–93
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Constable, A.J. The role of sutures in shrinking of the test in Heliocidaris erythrogramma (Echinoidea: Echinometridae). Marine Biology 117, 423–430 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349318
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349318