Thank you all for sharing this interesting observations!
Sylvia
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Van: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Namens Harry Lee
Verzonden: vrijdag 9 augustus 2019 01:18
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Re: [CONCH-L] Ecological association between wentletraps and sea urchins?
Ah; I remember seeing something like this kind of adhesion from time to time.
Thanks,
Harry
On 8/8/2019 7:05 PM, Susan Hewitt or Ed Subitzky wrote:
> Many thousands of times I have seen shells and pebbles stuck to sea urchins, but it is the tube feet that pick up the shells and pebbles, because the tube feet have a tiny sucker at the end. And Steve said often the wentletraps he saw were stuck in the aperture-up position. Logic dictates it was the tube feet that they were stuck to, not the spines.
>
>
>> On Aug 8, 2019, at 6:54 PM, Harry Lee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Amazing how Susan knew this; did I miss something?
>>
>> Harry
>>
>>
>> On 8/8/2019 9:32 AM, steve rosenthal wrote:
>>> correct, thank you!
>>>
>>> On 8/8/19, Susan Hewitt or Ed Subitzky <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>> A small point, but it is the tube feet of the sea urchins that the
>>>> shells are stuck to, not the spines.
>>>>
>>>>> On Aug 7, 2019, at 5:09 PM, Steve Rosenthal <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> It is well known that wentletraps (Epitoniidae) are associated
>>>>> ecologically and distributionally with sea anemones. Does anybody
>>>>> know if there is any association between sea urchins and wentletraps?
>>>>>
>>>>> While collecting shells over the weekend in SE Alaska I stumbled
>>>>> upon a population of Boreoscala greenlandica (Perry, 1811) in
>>>>> spatial association with bunches of green sea urchins
>>>>> (Strongylocentrotus
>>>>> drobachiensis) in the lowermost intertidal/uppermost subtidal zone
>>>>> of the rocky shoreline. Of the 100 or so live snails I saw, at
>>>>> least half were actually 'stuck' on the spines of the sea urchins
>>>>> with their apertures/opercula facing upwards. Almost all the
>>>>> other wentletraps I saw were nearby on sediment or hard surfaces
>>>>> adjacent to (and often in contact with) the urchins, while a few
>>>>> were crawling around in, or partially buried in, bare patches of
>>>>> soft sediment nearby. I didn't see any of the snails in any
>>>>> other microhabitat or bottom type in the areas I explored.
>>>>> Furthermore, I didn't notice any sea anemones in the areas where
>>>>> the urchins and the wentletraps were living. I can't help but
>>>>> wonder if there is an ecological association between these two
>>>>> species, and then of course how did so many living wentletraps
>>>>> wind up 'stuck' on the sea urchins, and what- if any- harm (or
>>>>> benefit) could result for the snails as a consequence. It's well
>>>>> known that many species of sea urchins will attach dead shells
>>>>> (especially bivalves), pebbles and other debris to their spines to help disguise them from potential predators. Do they also 'use' live shells? It sure looked like it.
>>>>> Another thing i did notice was the first low tide of that weekend
>>>>> (a minus 3.0) was so low that the urchins were eventually exposed
>>>>> to the air, and from that point onward, could no longer find any
>>>>> wentletraps,
>>>>>
>>>>> Anybody ever seen anything like this or have any knowledge as to
>>>>> what was going on?
>>>>>
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