The role of the length spines of echinoids in their association with crustacean and fish in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Introduction: Echinoids (sea urchins) provide shelter for a variety of facultative or obligatory ectosymbionts. Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis that decapods and fishes prefer to associate with echinoid individuals species have longer spines. Methods: We visually studied frequency decapod crustaceans associated echinoids in shallow water (< 4 m) deeper (5-20 at Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, during 1-6 January 2019. Results: inspected 1 058 six species. Five three echinoids. When compared other species, water, 5.1 times more often longest-spined Diadema mexicanum (7.0 per individual D. mexicanum); association was similar all Fourteen fish four In 2.6 (4.5 individual). There no preferred water. Longer-spined had fishes. Associations were frequent Multiple together single mexicanum. The presumably is Tuleariocaris holthuisi showed possible one equinoids (D. are associates. Conclusion: Our results support most frequently longest spines, reduce risk predation.