[Coral-List] White-spined Diadema antillarum

[William Allison]

I saw something like this in 1987 (or 1988 - haven't got my notes with me)
in St. Anne's Bay Jamaica as SST was increasing. A significant proportion of
such individuals subsequently died.
Bill

On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 12:28 PM, Esther Peters <esther.peters at verizon.net>
wrote:

> I recall seeing large white-spined /Diadema antillarum/ in shallow water
> at The Indians, rock outcroppings in the British Virgin Islands.  I was
> pregnant then, so could only snorkel, in 1988.  I remember thinking they
> must not have been affected by the mass motality because they were so
> large.  They might have been able to stay in the shade of the outcroppings.
>
> If one does a Google Scholar search on these key words "sea urchin
> melanin epidermis" one finds all kinds of interesting papers on and
> references to melanin production in the epidermis and effects of light
> and diet on pigmentation in these animals.  But more studies are needed!
>
> Esther Peters, Ph.D.
> George Mason University
>
> Gordon Hendler wrote:
> > According to Moore (1966:81) large Diadema antillarum with some or many
> > white or gray spines "...are found in darker and more turbid conditions
> and
> > frequently in caves. In my experience, they seem to be more common in
> deep
> > water around Caribbean reefs than at shallow depths. The spines of
> > juveniles are always banded with black and white. Individuals change
> color
> > in response to the intensity of illumination. Animals that are black
> during
> > the day pale at night.
> > Hendler et al. 1995. Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and Allies. Echinoderms of
> > Florida and the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution Press. 390 pp.
> > Moore, H.B. Ecology of echinoids. In: Physiology of Echinodermata, ed.
> R.A.
> > Boolootian, 73-85. John-Wiley Interscience. N.Y.
> >
> >
> > ********************************************
> > Gordon Hendler, Ph.D.
> > Curator of Echinoderms
> > Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
> > 900 Exposition Boulevard
> > Los Angeles, California 90007 U.S.A.
> > Voice:  213 763 3526
> > Fax:    213 746 2999
> > ********************************************
> >
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