Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis   (Müller, 1776)

Northern sea urchin

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Echinoidea | Camarodonta | Strongylocentrotidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 300 m (Ref. 78719), usually 0 - 50 m (Ref. 113749).  Temperate; 79°N - 37°N, 127°E - 97°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northern Pacific, Northern Atlantic and the Arctic. Temperate to polar.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 2.5  range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 865); max. reported age: 45 years (Ref. 90469)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

It is found on rocks and soft bottoms from the intertidal to a depth of 300 meters (Ref. 865). Also in tidepools in the low intertidal, found on bedrock outcrops, boulders, cobbles, occasionally in sand (Ref. 113749). Primarily feeds on seaweeds, with few feeding on eelgrass (Ref. 106946). Also feeds on bivalves, gastropods and benthic crustaceans (Ref. 85579).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Echinoidea are gonochoric. Fertilization is external. Brooding is common, eggs are held either on the peristome, around the periproct or deep into the concavities on the petaloids. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktotrophic larvae (echinoplateus) and live for several months before they sink to the bottom using their tube feet to adhere on the ground where they metamorphose into young urchins.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Berkes, F., T.P. Hughes, R.S. Steneck, J.A. Wilson, D.R. Bellwood, B. Crona, C. Folke, L.H. Gunderson, H.M. Leslie, J. Norberg, M. Nyström, P. Olsson, H. Österblom, M. Scheffer and B. Worm. 2006. (Ref. 861)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.8 - 10.2, mean 5.2 (based on 977 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.12-0.84; tm=2.5; tmax=45).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.
Nutrients: Calcium = 126 [75, 177] mg/100g; Iron = 5.08 [1.67, 7.92] mg/100g; Protein = 12%; Omega3 = 0.331 [0.263, 0.400] g/100g; Selenium = 0.04 [48.48, 67.17] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.97 [0.92, 3.02] mg/100g (wet weight).