Optimistic future for sea urchins

Can sea urchins beat the heat? Sea urchins, thermal tolerance and climate change

The massive die-off of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, a significant reef grazer, in the mid 1980s was followed by phase shifts from coral dominated to macroalgae dominated reefs in the Caribbean. While Diadema populations have recovered in some reefs with concomitant increases in coral cover, the additional threat of increasing temperatures due to global climate change has not ...

REpROdUCTIvE ISOLATION BETwEEN SpECIES OF SEA URChINS

Existing knowledge on reproductive isolating barriers between sea urchin species is reviewed. Experiments involving artificial production of hybrids between congeneric echinoid species have shown that in most cases hybrids are viable and capable of backcrossing. Only species separated for > 5 million yrs show complete post-zygotic isolation. Each potential prezygotic isolating barrier appears t...

Pentamerism and Modularity in Sea Urchins

Ecological role of purple sea urchins.

Sea urchins are major components of marine communities. Their grazing limits algal biomass, and they are preyed upon by many predators. Purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) are among the best studied species. They live in environments that alternate between two stable states: luxuriant, species-rich kelp forests and sea urchin-dominated "barrens." The transition from one state to ...

Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: sea urchins.

Embryos of the echinoderms, especially those of sea urchins and sea stars, have been studied as model organisms for over 100 years. The simplicity of their early development, and the ease of experimentally perturbing this development, provides an excellent platform for mechanistic studies of cell specification and morphogenesis. As a result, echinoderms have contributed significantly to our und...