Echinus Esculentus Research Articles

Insights into the quality changes of edible sea urchin (Echinus esculentus) gonads during ice storage

The study aimed to assess the quality changes of E. esculentus gonads during 14-days of ice storage. Microbial quality and community composition succession were examined using both culture-dependent and independent methods. Additionally, the chemical profile, including spoilage metabolite production, proximate composition, fatty acids and amino acids distribution, was investigated. Colorimetric and texture parameters were also assessed. Microbial counts were relatively stable until day 4, followed by rapid growth, reaching 7.3 ± 0.1 log CFU/g on day 8 for psychrotrophic counts. Pseudomonas emerged as the primary specific spoilage organism, followed by Photobacterium and Psychrobacter. Concurrently, inosine, hypoxanthine and biogenic amines formation correlated with the rapid microbial proliferation. The fresh gonads' lipid consisted of 29.4 ± 1.0% SFA, 18.7 ± 1.0% MUFA and 46.5 ± 2.7% PUFA, with no significant changes up to day 8 of ice storage. The initial ratio of essential to non-essential amino acids was 62.3 ± 1.8% and declined during storage, while the concentration of free amino acids significantly increased after 4 days of ice storage. Notable shifts in the lightness and texture parameters coincided with the water content reduction. Overall, the results indicated satisfactory gonad quality for up to 4 days of ice storage, beyond which significant degradation and spoilage processes were initiated. This study could offer insights to enhance comprehension and prolong the quality stability of gonads.

Edible Sea urchins Echinus esculentus from Norwegian waters- Effect of season on nutritional quality and chemical contaminants

This study aimed to characterize Echinus esculentus gonads in terms of biometric parameters and nutritional quality at two sites in Mid-Norway at four different seasons. The chemical contamination of the gonads was also investigated for the first time through the evaluation of 28 macro- and trace elements and 32 components from the emerging and persistent group per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The spawning period was determined in summer, given that the gonad index was the lowest in this season for both sites. Protein concentrations were constant (8%–10%). However, lipid contents (1%–3%) were noticed to be higher in gonads during autumn and winter. The gonads had high contents of PUFA mainly EPA and DHA, followed by SFA, and MUFA year around for both locations. E. esculentus gonads constitute a good source of fatty acids, macro, and trace elements. This species could also be a bioindicator for the monitoring of marine environments.

Hidden cost of pH variability in seagrass beds on marine calcifiers under ocean acidification

Coastal ecosystems experience large environmental variability leading to local adaptation. The key role of variability and adaptation in modulating the biological sensitivity to ocean acidification is increasingly acknowledged. Monitoring and understanding the ecological niche at the right spatio-temporal scale is key to understand the sensitivity of any organism and ecosystems. However, the role of the variability in relevant carbonate chemistry parameters as a driver is often overlooked. For example, the balance between photosynthesis and respiration over the day/night cycle is leading to high pH/pCO2 variability in seagrass beds. We hypothesized that (i) the calcifying larvae of the sea urchin Echinus esculentus exposed to seagrass-driven variability would have some physiological mechanisms to respond to such variability; and (ii) these mechanisms would reach their limit under ocean acidification. We compared the presence and absence of the seagrass Zostera marina in flow through mesocosms fed with seawater with 4 pHs. The carbonate chemistry was monitored and biological response of a sea urchin larvae was documented over 3 weeks. Growth and net calcification rates were measured twice a day to encompass diurnal variability. Our results show that larvae growth rate significantly decreased with decreasing average pHT in both absence and presence of seagrass. Moreover, sea urchin larvae showed a slower growth rate in presence of seagrass, only visible in the lowest pH conditions. In addition, larvae raised in presence of seagrass, maximized calcification during the day, and lower their calcification during the night. In contrast, no significant difference was observed between day and night for the net calcification rate in larvae raised in absence of seagrass. Our results demonstrate the limit of local adaptation to the present range of variability under ocean acidification conditions. It also demonstrates that photosynthetic ecosystems such as seagrass may not play a role of refuge against future ocean acidification.

Behavioural and physiological impacts of low salinity on the sea urchin Echinus esculentus.

Reduced seawater salinity as a result of freshwater input can exert a major influence on the ecophysiology of benthic marine invertebrates, such as echinoderms. While numerous experimental studies have explored the physiological and behavioural effects of short-term, acute exposure to low salinity in echinoids, surprisingly few have investigated the consequences of chronic exposure, or compared the two. In this study, the European sea urchin, Echinus esculentus, was exposed to low salinity over the short term (11‰, 16‰, 21‰, 26‰ and 31‰ for 24 h) and longer term (21, 26 and 31‰ for 25 days). Over the short term, oxygen consumption, activity coefficient and coelomic fluid osmolality were directly correlated with reduced salinity, with 100% survival at ≥21‰ and 0% at ≤16‰. Over the longer term at 21‰ (25 days), oxygen consumption was significantly higher, feeding was significantly reduced and activity coefficient values were significantly lower than at control salinity (31‰). At 26‰, all metrics were comparable to the control by the end of the experiment, suggesting acclimation. Furthermore, beneficial functional resistance (righting ability and metabolic capacity) to acute low salinity was observed at 26‰. Osmolality values were slightly hyperosmotic to the external seawater at all acclimation salinities, while coelomocyte composition and concentration were unaffected by chronic low salinity. Overall, E. esculentus demonstrate phenotypic plasticity that enables acclimation to reduced salinity around 26‰; however, 21‰ represents a lower acclimation threshold, potentially limiting its distribution in coastal areas prone to high freshwater input.

ECR Spotlight – Nicholas Barrett

ABSTRACT ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Nick Barrett is an author on ‘ Behavioural and physiological impacts of low salinity on the sea urchin Echinus esculentus’, published in JEB. Nick is a PhD student in the lab of Professor Lloyd Peck and Professor Elizabeth Harper at British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK, and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK, investigating the effects of osmotic stress on marine animals, with a focus on the resistance of Antarctic marine species to predicted freshening and lower salinity in the Southern Ocean as a result of climate change.

Effect of electromagnetic fields from renewable energy subsea power cables on righting reflex and physiological response of coastal invertebrates

Offshore renewables are expanding, yet more information is required to understand their possible impacts on the environment. Little is known about the effects of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) from subsea power cables on marine life. This study simulated an EMF of 500 μT, as modelled for an export cable over a rocky shore, where the industry standard cable burial would not be possible. Righting reflex, refractive index of haemolymph/coelomic fluid, and total haemocyte/coelomocyte counts were measured for four coastal invertebrates (Asterias rubens, Echinus esculentus, Necora puber, and Littorina littorea). No significant differences were found in either behavioural or physiological responses. This was the first study to investigate EMF exposure on righting reflex, and the first ever EMF study on edible sea urchins and periwinkles, and only one of a couple for common starfish and velvet crabs. It therefore, provides valuable data for environmental impact assessments, marine spatial planning, and commercial fisheries.

Handling, Reproducing and Cryopreserving Five European Sea Urchins (Echinodermata, Klein, 1778) for Biodiversity Conservation Purposes.

In this work, five local sea urchin species found in European waters were studied. Four were regular species: Sphaerechinus granularis, Psammechinus miliaris, Echinus esculentus (Linnaeus, 1758) and the edible sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus; and one was an irregular species, Echinocardium cordatum. These five species of sea urchins have been studied regarding their fertility, toxicity of cryoprotecting agents, cryopreservation of different cell types and chilling injury. The baseline fertility is similar in P. lividus, P. miliaris and S. granularis. Nonetheless, the sperm:egg ratio, contact time and development of the fertilization envelope would need to be studied further on a case-by-case basis. Sperm can be maintained inactively in the gonad (4 °C), and oocytes also maintain quality in sea water (4 °C), even after 72 h. Sperm was cryopreserved for four species with some post-thaw intra specific variability, and embryo cryopreservation was only possible for S. granularis. Overall, this study provided a wider vision of the biology and reproduction of these species that will help us develop tools for their biodiversity conservation through cryopreservation.

Local flexibility in feeding behaviour and contrasting microhabitat use of an omnivore across latitudes.

As the environment is getting warmer and species are redistributed, consumers can be forced to adjust their interactions with available prey, and this could have cascading effects within food webs. To better understand the capacity for foraging flexibility, our study aimed to determine the diet variability of an ectotherm omnivore inhabiting kelp forests, the sea urchin Echinus esculentus, along its entire latitudinal distribution in the northeast Atlantic. Using a combination of gut content and stable isotope analyses, we determined the diet and trophic position of sea urchins at sites in Portugal (42° N), France (49° N), southern Norway (63° N), and northern Norway (70° N), and related these results to the local abundance and distribution of putative food items. With mean estimated trophic levels ranging from 2.4 to 4.6, omnivory and diet varied substantially within and between sites but not across latitudes. Diet composition generally reflected prey availability within epiphyte or understorey assemblages, with local affinities demonstrating that the sea urchin adjusts its foraging to match the small-scale distribution of food items. A net "preference" for epiphytic food sources was found in northern Norway, where understorey food was limited compared to other regions. We conclude that diet change may occur in response to food source redistribution at multiple spatial scales (microhabitats, sites, regions). Across these scales, the way that key consumers alter their foraging in response to food availability can have important implication for food web dynamics and ecosystem functions along current and future environmental gradients.

Antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the EeCentrocin 1 derived peptide EC1-17KV via membrane disruption

BackgroundThe antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation of pathogenic microbes exacerbate the difficulties of anti-infection therapy in the clinic. The structural modification of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) is an effective strategy to develop novel anti-infective agents.MethodSeventeen amino acids (AA) in the longer chain of EeCentrocin 1 (from the edible sea-urchin Echinus esculentus) were truncated and underwent further modification. To produce lead peptides with low toxicity and high efficacy, the antimicrobial activity or cytotoxicity of peptides was evaluated against various multidrug-resistant bacteria/fungi or mammalian cells in vivo/ in vitro. In addition, the stability and modes of action of the lead peptide were investigated.FindingsEC1-17KV displayed potent activity and an expanded antimicrobial spectrum, especially against drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria and fungi, attributable to its enhanced amphiphilicity and net charge. In addition, it exhibits bactericidal/fungicidal activity and effectively increased the animal survival rate and mitigated the histopathological damage induced by multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa or C. albicans in infected mice or G. mellonella. Moreover, EC1-17KV had a poor ability to induce resistance in bacteria and fungi and exhibited desirable high-salt/high-temperature tolerance properties. In bacteria, EC1-17KV promoted divalent cation release to damage bacterial membrane integrity. In fungi, it changed C. albicans membrane fluidity to increase membrane permeabilization or reduced hyphal formation to suppress biofilm formation.InterpretationEC1-17KV is a promising lead peptide for the development of antimicrobial agents against antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi.FundingThis work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81673483, 81803591); National Science and Technology Major Project Foundation of China (2019ZX09721001-004-005); National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFA0902000); "Double First-Class" University project (CPU2018GF/GY16); Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (No. BK20180563); and A Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

Structure-activity relationship studies of shortened analogues of the antimicrobial peptide EeCentrocin 1 from the sea urchin Echinus esculentus.

EeCentrocin 1 is a potent antimicrobial peptide isolated from the marine sea urchin Echinus esculentus. The peptide has a hetero-dimeric structure with the antimicrobial activity confined in its largest monomer, the heavy chain (HC), encompassing 30 amino acid residues. The aim of the present study was to develop a shorter drug lead peptide using the heavy chain of EeCentrocin 1 as a starting scaffold and to perform a structure-activity relationship study with sequence modifications to optimize antimicrobial activity. The experiments consisted of 1) truncation of the heavy chain, 2) replacement of amino acids unfavourable for in vitro antimicrobial activity, and 3) an alanine scan experiment on the truncated and modified heavy chain sequence to identify essential residues for antimicrobial activity. The heavy chain of EeCentrocin 1 was truncated to less than half its initial size, retaining most of its original antimicrobial activity. The truncated and optimized lead peptide (P6) consisted of the 12 N-terminal amino acid residues from the original EeCentrocin 1 HC sequence and was modified by two amino acid replacements and a C-terminal amidation. Results from the alanine scan indicated that the generated lead peptide (P6) contained the optimal sequence for antibacterial activity, in which none of the alanine scan peptides could surpass its antimicrobial activity. The lead peptide (P6) was also superior in antifungal activity compared to the other peptides prepared and showed minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in the low micromolar range. In addition, the lead peptide (P6) displayed minor haemolytic and no cytotoxic activity, making it a promising lead for further antimicrobial drug development.

Small-scale distribution modeling of benthic species in a protected natural hard ground area in the German North Sea (Helgoländer Steingrund)

Natural stony and coarse-grained habitats entail important ecological features for the marine environment. Due to the complexity of their bottom characteristics, they host a high biodiversity compared to surrounding soft bottom areas. The German nature conservation area “Helgolander Steingrund” (HSG; 54°14.00 N and 8°03.00 W) is subject to regular monitoring but lacks information on the spatial distribution of benthic species. Within this study, a new approach using species distribution models (SDM) was tested to fill these gaps of knowledge. Newly recorded environmental data (depth, sediments, current velocities) in the HSG and information on the presence and absences of nine benthic species (Echinus esculentus, Metridium senile, Cancer pagurus, Phymatolithon spp., Axinella polypoides, Homarus gammarus, Flustra foliacea, Alcyonidium diaphanum, Alcyonium digitatum), collected using video analysis of drop camera records, was used to perform SDMs. The models revealed good evaluation measures (true skill statistic > 0.7; area under the receiver operation characteristic curve > 0.90), implying that the model showed good predictive performance for the potential distribution of the tested species. The outcome of this study is a clear recommendation on SDM application in further environmental monitoring programs on the HSG and other protected hard ground areas.

Tetrodotoxins Occurrence in Non-Traditional Vectors of the North Atlantic Waters (Portuguese Maritime Territory, and Morocco Coast).

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent alkaloid typically from tropical ecosystems, but in the last decade its presence has been more pronounced in the temperate waters of the Atlantic. In its last scientific opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stressed the need for data regarding TTX prevalence in European waters. To address EFSA’s concerns, benthic organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish with different feeding habits were collected along the Portuguese continental coast, islands (São Miguel, Azores, and Madeira) and the northwestern Moroccan coast. A total of 165 samples were analyzed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) and ultra high performance chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Geographical tendencies were detected as follows, by descending order: S. Miguel Island (Azores), Moroccan coast, Madeira Island and Portuguese continental coast. The toxin amounts detected were significant, above the Dutch limit value established in 2017, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, unraveling new vectors, in order to better assess human health risk. This work represents a general overview of new TTX bearers (7) most of them in gastropods (Patella depressa, Nucella lapillus, Onchidella celtica and Aplysia depilans), followed by echinoderms (Echinus esculentus and Ophidiaster ophidianus) and puffer fish Sphoeroides marmoratus.

Benthic Conservation Features and Species Associated With Subsea Pipelines: Considerations for Decommissioning

Oil and gas pipelines that lie exposed on the seabed can function as “artificial reefs”, providing habitat for fish and benthic species, including some that are listed under conservation designations. As the offshore hydrocarbon industry matures, operators and national governments must decide whether decommissioned pipelines should be left in situ or removed for onshore disposal. In most jurisdictions, there is a requirement to evaluate the environmental consequences of different pipeline decommissioning options in a comparative assessment. To do this effectively requires an understanding of the associations between pipelines and fauna. Pipeline operators routinely collect video footage for inspection and maintenance purposes using remotely operated vehicles (ROV). This footage has the potential to provide insight into interactions between the marine environment and offshore pipelines. This study uses inspection footage from eight pipelines to quantify the presence and abundance of species and features listed under a number of EU and UK conservation designations; 12 such features and species were observed on the pipelines or neighboring sediments. The soft coral Alcyonium digtatum was present in the highest densities on pipelines located on mud, while Sabellaria sp. and Echinus esculentus were more common on pipelines in sand. Gadoids, anemones and hermit crabs were also frequently observed around pipelines. The study also suggests that faunal identification from ROV footage depended on image resolution, ROV speed and altitude, and lighting, and taxa <50 mm in size could not be reliably classified. The results suggest that removal of pipelines will remove established colonies of epibenthic species, some of which have conservation value. The ecological significance of this loss, however, must be weighed against the broader considerations during pipeline decommissioning including cost, technical feasibility and impacts to other marine users.

ABCB1 and ABCC1-like transporters in immune system cells from sea urchins Echinometra lucunter and Echinus esculentus and oysters Crassostrea gasar and Crassostrea gigas

ABC transporters activity and expression have been associated with the multixenobiotic resistance phenotype (MXR). The activity of these proteins leads to a reduction in the intracellular concentration of several xenobiotics, thus reducing their toxicity. However, little attention has been given to the expression of ABC transporters in marine invertebrates and few studies have investigated their role in immune system cells of sea urchins and shellfish bivalves. The aim of the present study was to investigate the activity of the ABC transporters ABCB1 and ABCC1 in immune system cells of sea urchins (coelomocytes) and oysters (hemocytes) from different climatic regions (Brazil and France). Sea urchins and oysters were collected at Paraíba coast; Brazil (Echinometra lucunter and Crassostrea gasar) and Rade of Brest; France (Echinus esculentus and Crassostrea gigas). Coelomocytes and hemocytes were stained with the ABC transporter substrate calcein-AM and dye accumulation analyzed under flow cytometry. Reversin 205 (ABCB1 transporter blocker) and MK571 (ABCC1 transporter blocker) were used as pharmacological tools to investigate ABC transporter activity. A different pattern of calcein accumulation was observed in coelomocytes: phagocytes > colorless spherulocytes > vibrate cells > red spherulocytes. The treatment with MK571 increased calcein fluorescence levels in coelomocytes from both species. However, reversin 205 treatment was not able to increase calcein fluorescence in E. esculentus coelomocytes. These data suggest that ABCC1-like transporter activity is present in both sea urchin species, but ABCB1-like transporter activity might only be present in E. lucunter coelomocytes. The activity of ABCC1-like transporter was observed in all cell types from both bivalve species. However, reversin 205 only increased calcein accumulation in hyalinocytes of the oyster C. gasar, suggesting the absence of ABCB1-like transporter activity in all other cell types, including hyalinocytes from the oyster C. gigas. Additionally, our results showed that C. gigas exhibited higher activity of ABCC1-like transporter in all hemocyte types than C. gasar. The present work is the first to characterize ABCB1 and ABCC1-like transporter activity in the immune system cells of sea urchins E. lucunter and E. esculentus and oysters. Our findings encourage the performing studies regarding ABC transporters activity/expression in immune system cells form marine invertebrates under stress conditions and the possible use of ABC transporters as biomarkers.

Novel Antimicrobial Peptides EeCentrocins 1, 2 and EeStrongylocin 2 from the Edible Sea Urchin Echinus esculentus Have 6-Br-Trp Post-Translational Modifications.

The global problem of microbial resistance to antibiotics has resulted in an urgent need to develop new antimicrobial agents. Natural antimicrobial peptides are considered promising candidates for drug development. Echinoderms, which rely on innate immunity factors in the defence against harmful microorganisms, are sources of novel antimicrobial peptides. This study aimed to isolate and characterise antimicrobial peptides from the Edible sea urchin Echinus esculentus. Using bioassay-guided purification and cDNA cloning, three antimicrobial peptides were characterised from the haemocytes of the sea urchin; two heterodimeric peptides and a cysteine-rich peptide. The peptides were named EeCentrocin 1 and 2 and EeStrongylocin 2, respectively, due to their apparent homology to the published centrocins and strongylocins isolated from the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. The two centrocin-like peptides EeCentrocin 1 and 2 are intramolecularly connected via a disulphide bond to form a heterodimeric structure, containing a cationic heavy chain of 30 and 32 amino acids and a light chain of 13 amino acids. Additionally, the light chain of EeCentrocin 2 seems to be N-terminally blocked by a pyroglutamic acid residue. The heavy chains of EeCentrocins 1 and 2 were synthesised and shown to be responsible for the antimicrobial activity of the natural peptides. EeStrongylocin 2 contains 6 cysteines engaged in 3 disulphide bonds. A fourth peptide (Ee4635) was also discovered but not fully characterised. Using mass spectrometric and NMR analyses, EeCentrocins 1 and 2, EeStrongylocin 2 and Ee4635 were all shown to contain post-translationally brominated Trp residues in the 6 position of the indole ring.

Red sea urchins (Echinus esculentus) and water flow influence epiphytic macroalgae density

The importance of forests of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea along the Norwegian coast is related to the three-dimensional structure that they create together with the associated macroalgae. Today, kelp forests have recovered in several areas after an extensive overgrazing by green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). However, red sea urchins (Echinus esculentus) have been observed grazing on kelp and algae in recently recovered kelp forests. Apart from grazing pressure, the abundance of algae depends on environmental conditions, such as light and water flow. The main aim of this study was to analyse how densities of red sea urchins, wave exposure and current speed influence densities of epiphytic macroalgae associated with kelp stipes. Our results show that the density of red sea urchins had a negative effect on macroalgal densities. In the well-developed kelp forest (i.e. in a late successional stage found in the southern region), macroalgal density decreased with depth and increased with water flow, both in terms of waves and currents. Wave forces had a higher effect than tidal-driven currents. In the recently recovered kelp forests (in the northern region), we found lower densities of epiphytic macroalgae in shallow compared to deep waters, most likely caused by red sea urchin grazing. Our study concludes that water flow is important for the ecological function of the kelp forest through the influence on habitat-forming epiphytic macroalgae, and that grazing by red sea urchins might severely affect kelp forest resilience in recently recovered areas.

Response of benthic macrofauna to an oil pollution: Lessons from the “Prestige” oil spill on the rocky shore of Guéthary (south of the Bay of Biscay, France)

The benthic community on the rocky foreshore of Guéthary (France) has been monitored since 2002. The standardized and quantitative monitoring method counts 20 geographically referenced quadrats spread on three littoral zones: upper mediolittoral, lower mediolittoral and infralittoral zones. The setting up of this monitoring occurred when the “Prestige” sunk close to the Finistere Cape in Galicia (Spain). The oil slick following the shipwreck impacted the Guéthary foreshore in early 2003.After the “Prestige” oil spill, the taxonomic richness decreased in the studied area with a loss of 16 species – from 57 in 2002 (before the shipwreck) to 41 species in 2004. Two or 3 years later, taxonomic richness increased to a level observed prior to the oil spill.Along the years, temporal variations in community structure of benthic macrofauna are revealed by detailed analysis. Some polluo-sensitive species disappeared after 2002 and have not reappeared yet (e.g.: Hymeniacidon perlevis). Some others reappeared two or three years after the spill or even later (e.g.: Amphipholis squamata, Botryllus schlosseri, Calliostoma zizyphinum, Echinus esculentus, etc.). Noteworthy changes were found in 2004 driven by the sudden increase in abundance of grazers. The following years, these abundances went back to a stable level. The benthic community seemed to recover almost 5 years later, although a new composition of macrofauna populations was observed.In overall aspect, the complexity of the benthic ecosystem response to oil spills confirms the need of regularly updated baselines to assess the impact of pollutions and more generally to maintain marine biodiversity.

Evidence for a pan-Arctic sea-ice diatom diet in Strongylocentrotus spp

The Arctic marine food web is based on organic matter produced by both phytoplankton and sea-ice algae. With the decline of Arctic sea ice, the sustained availability of organic carbon of sea-ice origin is unclear. Recently, the detection of the sea-ice diatom biomarker IP25 in a range of Arctic benthic macrofauna indicated that this is a highly suitable biomarker for the identification of organic carbon derived from sea-ice primary production in Arctic food webs. However, the data presented previously were restricted to a single geographical region in the Canadian Arctic. Here, we show that IP25 is present in sea urchins of the genus Strongylocentrotus collected from ten locations with seasonal sea-ice cover from the Canadian Archipelago, Greenland and Spitsbergen. In contrast, IP25 was not found in specimens of Echinus esculentus collected from the southwest UK, where sea ice is absent. Our findings provide evidence that the presence of IP25 in macrobenthic organisms can be used across different Arctic regions as a versatile indicator of a diet containing carbon of sea-ice origin.

NGFFFamide and echinotocin: structurally unrelated myoactive neuropeptides derived from neurophysin-containing precursors in sea urchins

The myoactive neuropeptide NGIWYamide was originally isolated from the holothurian (sea cucumber) Apostichopus japonicus but there is evidence that NGIWYamide-like peptides also occur in other echinoderms. Here we report the discovery of a gene in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus that encodes two copies of an NGIWYamide-like peptide: Asn-Gly-Phe-Phe-Phe-(NH(2)) or NGFFFamide. Interestingly, the C-terminal region of the NGFFFamide precursor shares sequence similarity with neurophysins, carrier proteins hitherto uniquely associated with precursors of vasopressin/oxytocin-like neuropeptides. Thus, the NGFFFamide precursor is the first neurophysin-containing neuropeptide precursor to be discovered that does not contain a vasopressin/oxytocin-like peptide. However, it remains to be determined whether neurophysin acts as a carrier protein for NGFFFamide. The S. purpuratus genome also contains a gene encoding a precursor comprising a neurophysin polypeptide and 'echinotocin' (CFISNCPKGamide) - the first vasopressin/oxytocin-like peptide to be identified in an echinoderm. Therefore, in S. purpuratus there are two genes encoding precursors that have a neurophysin domain but which encode neuropeptides that are structurally unrelated. Furthermore, both NGFFFamide and echinotocin cause contraction of tube foot and oesophagus preparations from the sea urchin Echinus esculentus, consistent with the myoactivity of NGIWYamide in sea cucumbers and the myoactivity of vasopressin/oxytocin-like peptides in other animal phyla. Presumably the NGFFFamide precursor acquired its neurophysin domain following partial or complete duplication of a gene encoding a vasopressin/oxytocin-like peptide, but it remains to be determined when in evolutionary history this occurred.

The combined effect of canopy shading and sea urchin grazing on recruitment in kelp forest (Laminaria hyperborea)

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of sea urchin grazing (Echinus esculentus) and canopy shading on the recruitment of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea in mid-Norway. A spatially variable distribution of sea urchins was observed, and recruitment processes were studied both after disturbance, caused by kelp harvesting removal of the canopy kelps, and in pristine kelp forests. The combination of sea urchin density and the density of canopy-forming kelps had the strongest influence on the density of small kelps in pristine kelp forest, suggesting that both grazing from sea urchins and shading from the canopy contributed to the mortality of small kelps. High densities of small kelps (>20 m−2) were only found in pristine kelp forest together with ≤6 canopy-forming kelps m−2 or <3 sea urchins m−2 on average. However, within the observed range of sea urchin densities these had no effect on the density of large, canopy-forming kelps. Large L. hyperborea were apparently not subject to grazing. In addition, only a small number of surviving kelp recruits was needed to maintain the density of canopy-forming kelps, as L. hyperborea specimens may survive many years. These conditions result in high stability of the kelp forest. A different picture was seen after kelp harvesting, when high recruitment and survival of recruits are the conditions for rapid restoration of the kelp vegetation. After removal of the canopy-forming plants, the kelp recruits were temporarily released from high density-dependent mortality due to shading. Some influence of sea urchin grazing on the density of recruits was observed, but this was small compared with the strong canopy effect. However, the accumulated impact of grazing during a period of time had a strong overall effect on the regrowth of kelp. After 2.5 years the accumulated biomasses at the harvested stations were strongly related to average sea urchin density, and a density of between 4 and 5 sea urchins m−2 resulted in very little biomass accumulation. This suggests that the L. hyperborea kelp forest vegetation has a high degree of stability, but shows less resilience after disturbance, when exposed to moderate sea urchin grazing.