Do not push me! “Bullying” between two urchin species in aquarium culture

Do not push me! “Bullying” between two urchin species in aquarium culture | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 9 May 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Do not push me! “Bullying” between two urchin species in aquarium culture Authors : Yen-Huei Li 0000-0002-7642-7313 [email protected] , Christine Schönberg , and Tze Ning Wan Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174679963.30879182/v1 212 views 164 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract The sea urchins Echinometra mathaei and Stomopneustes variolaris co-occur on shallow reefs and are abundant in the South China Sea at Liuqiu Island, Taiwan. When keeping them together in aquarium culture, we were able to observe interaction between the urchins that appeared to be mostly motivated by space competition and possibly intensified by food competition. They engaged in interspecific and intraspecific “bullying” behaviors while being together in one aquarium. “Bullying” involved unequal competitive advantage and occurred between urchins of different sizes, with larger urchins chasing smaller ones. Having longer spines was also an advantage in the encounters. Compared to the short-spined E. mathaei that more frequently engaged in one-on-one interaction, S. variolaris was often witnessed forming “gangs”. Another observation was interpreted as a direct result of food competition, when sea urchins displayed an unusual eating behavior they do not show in the field – turning away or inverting the body, attaching aboral or lateral tube feet to the substrate and holding the food away from the substrate. We assumed that this was a response to a combination of handling lose food and competition, holding the food away from other urchins. Supplementary Material File (lietal_fig1.tif) Download 130.02 MB File (lietal_main_document.docx) Download 43.44 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 09 May 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords behavioral ecology description invertebrate laboratory marine Authors Affiliations Yen-Huei Li 0000-0002-7642-7313 [email protected] National Sun Yat-sen University View all articles by this author Christine Schönberg National Sun Yat-sen University View all articles by this author Tze Ning Wan National Sun Yat-sen University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 212 views 164 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Yen-Huei Li, Christine Schönberg, Tze Ning Wan. Do not push me! “Bullying” between two urchin species in aquarium culture. Authorea . 09 May 2025. 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