The effects of prolonged food deprivation on the covering behavior of the sea urchins Glyptocidaris crenularis and Strongylocentrotus intermedius

In this study, we investigated effects of 24 weeks of food deprivation on covering behavior of Glyptocidaris crenularis and Strongylocentrotus intermedius. Neither G. crenularis nor S. intermedius significantly reduced covering behavior during both short- and long-term food deprivation. However, G. crenularis and S. intermedius had significantly different behavioral patterns over the 24 weeks. Covering behavior of G. crenularis greatly increased from the first to the second week, with decreasing reaction time and increasing covering ability, while the covering behavior of S. intermedius generally remained unchanged during the experiment of 24 weeks. As prolonged food deprivation does not significantly affect covering behavior of G. crenularis and S. intermedius, the present study highlights the innate nature and biological significance of covering behavior in sea urchins, providing new insights into its behavioral mechanism. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.