Respiration and ecological energetics of the sea urchin Parechinus angulosus

Abstract

Respiration rates of Parechinus angulosus collected from intertidal pools at Dalebrook, False Bay, were measured in the laboratory at 16⁰C using the sealed-vessel method. No respiratory rhythms were detected over three 26-hour runs each Involving eight animals of different sizes. Respiration rates, expressed for an animal of standard diameter, increased proportionally to gonad Index. Annual production of the intertidal P. angulosus population was calculated from the respiration and population data using the P/R regression of Miller, Mann and Scarratt (1971), and was estimated to be about 1200 kJ m^-2 year^-1.