Abstract
AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 3:227-235 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00084 Sex-specific seasonal variation in the carotenoid content of sea urchin gonads Nils T. Hagen*, Ida Jørgensen, Einar Skarstad Egeland Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Bodø University College, 8049 Bodø, Norway *Email: nils.hagen@hibo.no ABSTRACT: This study documents the effect of sex on gonad carotenoid content during the annual reproductive cycle of Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis from northern Norway. Male and female S. droebachiensis exhibited distinctly different patterns of carotenoid variation, with seasonal carotenoid depletion and replenishment in females and carotenoid retention in males. Females lost approximately 71.1% of their echinenone during spawning, and compensated for the loss by active deposition during gonad regrowth. Female carotenoid levels (100 to 275 µg g–1 dry mass), although lower and less variable than male carotenoid levels, were consistently higher than predicted by estimates based on a constant post-spawning carotenoid content. Males did not lose carotenoids during spawning, and the concentration of carotenoids in male gonads varied from >600 to <200 µg g–1 dry mass, apparently as a passive result of increasing gonad size. The results suggest that carotenoid supplements in urchin diets would be largely wasted in gonad enhancement cultivation of male S. droebachiensis, and emphasize the importance of controlling future feeding trials for the confounding effect of sex on carotenoid deposition. KEY WORDS: Echinoid · Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis · Sex · Carotenoids · Seasonal variation · Gonad · Colour · Pigment Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Hagen NT, Jørgensen I, Egeland ES (2008) Sex-specific seasonal variation in the carotenoid content of sea urchin gonads. Aquat Biol 3:227-235. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00084 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 3, No. 3. Online publication date: August 26, 2008 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.
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