Sea Urchins: Biology and Ecology

This fully revised and expanded edition of Sea Urchins provides a wide-ranging understanding of the biology and ecology of this key component of the world's oceans. Coverage includes reproduction, metabolism, endocrinology, larval ecology, growth, digestion, carotenoids, disease and nutrition. Other chapters consider the ecology of individual species that are of major importance ecologically and economically, including species from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. In addition, six new contributions in areas such as immunology, digestive systems and community ecology inform readers on key recent developments and insights from the literature.

Sea urchins are ecologically important and often greatly affect marine communities. Because they have an excellent fossil record, they are also of interest to paleontologists. Research on sea urchins has increased in recent years, stimulated first by recognition of their ecological importance and subsequently their economic importance. Scientists around the world are actively investigating their potential for aquaculture and fisheries, and their value as model systems for investigations in developmental biology continues to increase.

Collects and synthesizes the state of knowledge of sea urchin biology and ecologyExpanded from previous edition to include non-edible species, providing the needed basis for broader evolutionary understanding of sea urchins

1. Phylogeny of Sea Urchins

2. Life History Strategies

3. Sea Urchin Gametogenesis - Structural, Functional and Molecular/Genomic Biology

4. Biochemical and Energy Requirements of Gonad Development

5. Endocrine Regulation of Sea Urchin Reproduction

6. Larval Ecology of Echinoids

7. Growth and Survival of Postsettlement Sea Urchins

8. Digestive System

9. Feeding, Digestion and Digestibility of Sea Urchins

10. Nutrition

11. Carotenoids in Sea Urchins

12. Disease in Sea Urchins

13. Immunology in Sea Urchins

14. Sea Urchins as Drivers of Shallow Benthic Marine Community Structure

15. Stocking Enhancement

16. Cidaroids

17. Centrostephanus rodgersii

18. Diadema

19. Arbacia

20. Loxechinus albus

21. Paracentrotus lividus

22. Psammechinus miliaris

23. Echinometra

24. Evechinus chloroticus

25. Heliocidaris erythrogramma

26. Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

27. Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and Strongylocentrotous purpuratus

28. Strongylocentrotus intermedus

29. Strongylocentrotus nudus

30. Hemicentrotus pulcherimus, Pseudocentrotous depressus and Anthocidaris crassispina

31. Lytechinus

32. Tripneustes