Irregular recruitment of the echinoid Echinocyamus pusillus and its implications for biological traits analysis
Warwick, R.M.; Pearce, B. (2020). Irregular recruitment of the echinoid Echinocyamus pusillus and its implications for biological traits analysis. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 100(7): 1123-1127. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315420000934
In: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press/Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom: Cambridge. ISSN 0025-3154; e-ISSN 1469-7769, more
Size-frequency analysis of the echinoid Echinocyamus pusillus from six offshore areas in the southern North Sea and eastern English Channel reveal five distinct cohorts, suggesting a lifespan of five years. In all six individual areas one or more year-groups are absent, due to the unsuccessful recruitment of planktonic larvae to the seabed in some years, giving a false impression of a shorter lifespan. A relatively long lifespan and planktotrophic larval development are remarkable for such a small species, which reaches a maximum test length of 7.3 mm in the area, such traits being more typical of large-sized macrobenthic species. The feeding mode is akin to that of many meiobenthic taxa. The architecture of the test confers exceptional strength and resilience to mechanical perturbation.
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