Tumbling in the waves as they hit a rocky shore tells purple
sea urchin larvae it's time to settle down and look for a spot to grow into an
adult, researchers at the University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine
Laboratory have found. The work is published April 8 in the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
"How these animals find their way to the right habitat
is a fascinating problem," said Brian Gaylord, professor of evolution and
ecology at UC Davis and a researcher at the Bodega Marine Lab. "The
turbulence response allows them to tell that they're in the right neighborhood."
Like most shoreline animals, purple sea urchins
(Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) have a two-stage life cycle. The young are
microscopic, look completely different from adults and drift in the upper
levels of the ocean for about a month before settling on a rocky shore and
transforming into the familiar spiny adult.