Deuterostomes are bilaterian animals in which the blastopore, the site of gastrulation, becomes the anus and the mouth develops secondarily. Deuterostome phyla include Chordata, such as vertebrates like ourselves, and Echinodermata, such as sea urchins. The extent of homology among deuterostome mouths is unknown. To address this question, this thesis compares three aspects of mouth morphogenesi...

The present work investigates structural response of tidal stream turbine blades subjected to impact loads from sea animals. A full-scale blade model was developed using a finite element modelling software ABAQUS, while simplified geometry an adult killer whale (Orcinus orca) assumed in simulating on the blade. foil profiles along were based NACA 63-8XX series, geometric and material properties...

Echinoderms are independent and quite special branch of world animals. Sea cucumbers are among the strangest members of echinoderm class regarding their structure and physiology. These fauna have been tested with regard to anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-coagulants, anti-virus, cytotoxic, hemolytic and anti-HIV features. In this study, the antibacterial activity of Holothuria leucospilota...

Heavy metals that enter marine environment and remain in the water as well as the sediments are accumulated by aquatic organisms, thus becoming highly good indicators to monitor metal accumulation in the long run. Metals are potentially harmful to humans and most organisms at varied levels of exposure and absorption. Northern East Mediterranean Sea is a crucial region as it is an area, shared b...

Exposure to sea turtles may be increasing with expanding tourism, although reports of problems arising from interaction with free-living animals appear of negligible human health and safety concern. Exposure both to wild-caught and captive-housed sea turtles, including consumption of turtle products, raises several health concerns for the public, including: microbiological (bacteria, viruses, p...

Estuaries are well known for their potential in removing metal from fresh water to provide micro-nutrients to aquatic life. In the present investigation, we have tried to bring out the metal removal potential of estuaries during accidental spills. For this purpose artificial river water containing high concentration of Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb were mixed with sea water at different salinity regime...

We studied the diel expression pattern of PAX6 (a structural gene that is commonly involved in the eye development and photoreception of eye forming animals) and the effects of light and covering behavior on PAX6 expression in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. We confirmed that aphotic condition significantly reduced covering behavior in S. intermedius. The diel expression pattern ...

The body temperature of ectotherms is influenced by the interaction of abiotic conditions, morphology, and behavior. Although organisms living in different thermal habitats may exhibit morphological plasticity or move from unfavorable locations, there are few examples of animals adjusting their thermal properties in response to short-term changes in local conditions. Here, we show that the inte...

Sea urchins are marine invertebrates of extreme diversity of life span. Red sea urchin S. franciscanus is among the longest living creatures of the Ocean. Its lifetime is estimated to exceed a century, while the green sea urchin L. variegatus hardly survives more than four years. We sequenced and compared the genomes of these animals aiming at determination of the genetic basis of their longevi...