The effect of the quality of food patches on larval vertical distribution of the sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus (Lamarck) and Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (Mueller)

Although most invertebrate larvae are weak swimmers and act as passive particles on horizontal scales, they may be able to regulate their vertical position in response to different factors, including increased food concentration. We examined the effect of the quality of food patches on larval vertical distribution for the sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and determined the effect of dietary conditioning on that response in the laboratory. We reared larvae on a mixed algal diet of Dunaliella tertiolecta and Isochrysis galbana under low (500 cells ml-1) and high (5000 cells ml-1) rations. Food patches were maintained in Plexiglas rectangular columns (30x10x10 cm) using a density gradient, where practical salinity in the bottom layer was 33, in the middle layer 30, and in the top layer 27. We examined the magnitude and mechanism of a behavioural response of larvae of L. variegatus in the four-arm stage, and on two developmental stages of S. droebachiensis (four- and six-arm), by manipulating patch quality. In the absence of a patch, larvae of both species and developmental stages swam through to the surface of the experimental columns. In the presence of algae, fewer larvae were present above the patch and more were at the patch than in control columns. More larvae swam through patches of "unflavoured" algal mimics than algal patches, and aggregated at the surface. Larval distribution relative to patches of algal filtrate without algal cells or of "flavoured" algal mimics in algal filtrate was not consistently different from that in either control or algal patches; thus, the magnitude of larval response to filtrate (with or without particles) was intermediate between that to control and algal patches. For L. variegatus, more larvae crossed the patches when reared on low than high rations, indicating that poorly conditioned larvae may be less responsive to environmental cues. Our results suggest that larvae can actively aggregate and maintain a vertical position in response to a food patch that depends on the quality and quantity of food. The response appears to be based mostly on a chemosensory rather than a mechanosensory mechanism.