О роли Bacillariophyta в питании клипестер Scaphechinus mirabilis (Agazzis, 1863) и Echinarachmus parma (Lamarck, 1818) (Echinoidea, Clypeasteroida)

Abstract

Исследована альгофлора песчаного субстрата и фекалий клипестер Scaphechinus mirabilis и Echinarachmus parma из бух. Троицы Японского моря в связи с нетипичным для них крупнозернистым песчаным субстратом.

Algal flora of the coarse-grained sandy substrate and faeces of clypeasteroids Scaphechinus mirabilis (Agazzis, 1863) and Echinarachmus parma (Lamarck, 1818) living in Troitsa Bay, Sea of Japan, were studied. A total of 50 species of microalgae were recorded, most of them (42) belong to Bacillariophyta. In the clypeasteroids faeces, diatoms were less diverse (27 species) when compared with a sandy substrate (50); most of the cells had chloroplasts, which provided evidence for selection of the clypeasteroids during feeding. High similarity of algae flora in S. mirabilis and E. parma faeces (0.97) indicated the similarity in food specialization of these clypeasteroids sharing the same ecological niche. The data largely confirmed the assumption of the essential role of diatoms in the feeding of clypeasteroid S. mirabilis.