Vafidis Dimitrios, Antoniadou Chryssanthi, Ioannidi Vassiliki
Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece.
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Aug 26;10(9):1506. doi: 10.3390/ani10091506.
is a common grazer that lives in various sublittoral habitats, displaying typical covering behavior; i.e., putts shell-fragments, pebbles, and algae on its test. It is an edible species of increasing commercial importance due to the depletion of the common urchin's, , stocks. Its biology, however, is not adequately studied over its distributional range. The present study examines population density, size structure, and reproductive biology of in the Aegean Sea. Samplings were made with SCUBA-diving (8-10 m) and included: (i) visual census along transects to estimate density, and (ii) random collection of specimens at monthly intervals to assess biometry and gametogenesis. Population density had moderate values that almost doubled when inputted to Distance software. had larger dimensions in the sheltered site; size-structures were unimodal (65-70 mm and 70-75 mm, in exposed and sheltered site, respectively). An annual reproductive cycle was evident, according to GSI and gonads' histology, with a clear spawning peak in early spring. This pattern conforms to previous reports from the Atlantic, but precedes those from the Mediterranean (reproduction in summer). The provided baseline knowledge on the biology of is important for the viable management of its developing fishery.
是一种常见的食草动物，生活在各种亚潮带栖息地，表现出典型的覆盖行为；即，将贝壳碎片、鹅卵石和藻类放在其壳上。由于常见海胆种群的枯竭，它是一种商业重要性日益增加的可食用物种。然而，在其分布范围内，对其生物学的研究并不充分。本研究调查了爱琴海地区该物种的种群密度、大小结构和生殖生物学。采用水肺潜水（8 - 10米）进行采样，包括：（i）沿样带进行目视普查以估计密度，以及（ii）每月随机收集标本以评估生物测量和配子发生。种群密度值适中，输入Distance软件后几乎翻倍。在庇护地点该物种尺寸更大；大小结构为单峰型（在暴露和庇护地点分别为65 - 70毫米和70 - 75毫米）。根据性腺指数（GSI）和性腺组织学，明显存在年度生殖周期，早春有明显的产卵高峰。这种模式与大西洋先前的报道一致，但早于地中海的报道（夏季繁殖）。所提供的关于该物种生物学的基线知识对于其正在发展的渔业的可持续管理很重要。
