The Open Zoology Journal

2012, 5 : 42-46
Published online 2012 November 2. DOI: 10.2174/1874336601205010042
Publisher ID: TOZJ-5-42

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Red Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Fran-ciscanus (Agassiz, 1863) and Purple Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Purpu-ratus (Stimpson, 1857) (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Alfredo Salas , Fernando Diaz , Ana Denisse Re , Marco Gonzalez and Clara Galindo
Departamento de Biotec-nologia Marina Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana # 3918, Ensenada Baja California, Mexico. (CICESE).

ABSTRACT

Thermoregulatory behavior of red sea urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and purple sea urchin S. purpu-ratus was determined in a horizontal thermal gradient. The preferred temperature select by the red sea urchin was 17.5 ± 0.3 ºC during the diurnal cycle and 16.8 ± 0.4 ºC for the night. The purple sea urchin preferred temperature during day-time of 18.8 ± 0.2 ºC and night was 17.4 ± 0.3 ºC. For both species of sea urchin preferendum between day and night cy-cles were different (P < 0.05), the purple sea urchin preferred higher temperatures that red urchin, suggesting that S. pur-puratus use thermoregulatory behavior as a mechanism of environmental segregation to avoid competition for space and food with red sea urchin.

Keywords:

Preferred temperature, red sea urchin, purple sea urchin.