Abstract
Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis and S. franciscanus exhibited strong algal preferences in laboratory studies. A generalized ranking of algae from most to least preferred for both sea urchins includes: Nereocystis luetkeana, Costaria costata, Laminaria saccharina, L. groenlandica, Monostroma fuscum, Opuntiella californica, Agarum fimbriatum and A. cribrosum. Similar but weaker preferences were exhibited by S. purpuratus. Preference experiments showed that substance(s) readily sloughed from the fronds of Nereocystis attract urchins whereas substances from A. fimbriatum repel or are not detected by urchins. In the field urchins in contact with or on the fronds of Agarum spp. revealed a low proportion of feeding individuals except during winter. Food preferences were inversely correlated with the caloric content of algae. Although preferences generally were weakly correlated with caloric intake, this relationship is an artifact of the high feeding rates on preferred algae. Absorption efficiencies for the thr...
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