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Effects Of Biological, Environmental, And Nutritional Factors On Fecal Pellet Size And Morphology In The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Lacey Nicole Dennis
Effects Of Biological, Environmental, And Nutritional Factors On Fecal Pellet Size And Morphology In The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Lacey Nicole Dennis
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Sea urchins are an important economic resource for many international fisheries and are an important animal model in developmental biology. Currently, health of cultured sea urchins is evaluated by behavior or through invasive examination of internal tissues. Destructive sampling is not conducive to longitudinal studies and a non-invasive method of evaluating sea urchin health would have practical application. Evaluation of the egesta could provide a valuable predictor of physiological well-being. The size and morphology of fecal pellets produced by the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus under a variety of environmental and nutritional conditions were characterized in terms of 2-dimensional area, length, …