Gonad production of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus in relation to algal vegetation in shallow waters along the Sea of Japan, southwestern Hokkaido, Japan
2006
Tsuda, F.(Hokkaido. Central Fisheries Experiment Station, Yoichi (Japan)) | Hoshikawa, H. | Agatsuma, Y. | Taniguchi, K.
Gonad production of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus in relation to the algal vegetation was clarified through gut content analysis in three sites (Yaoi, Rokujo and Biya) in Suttsu Bay along the Sea of Japan coast in southwestern Hokkaido from May to August 2001. The main food algae leading to gonad production were Sargassaceae and Desmarestia viridis (Yaoi), D. viridis and Colpomenia sinuosa (Rokujo) and Laminariales and D. viridis (Biya), coinciding with the algae with abundant standing crop that grew at each site, respectively. The gonad index (gonad wet weight x 100 / body wet weight) was the highest in the Laminaria religiosa-dominated site with high algal standing crop. It is considered that gonad production is affected by the nutritive value of the food algae and ease of grazing and by drifts of detrital algae that originate in shallow waters.
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