Morphological plasticity in the Aristotle's lantern of Arbacia dufresnii (Phymosomatoida: Arbaciidae) in Patagonian coast

EPHERRA, LUCIA; CRESPI ABRIL, AUGUSTO C.; RUBILAR, TAMARA; MERETTA, PABLO; CLEDÓN, MAXIMILIANO; MORSAN, ENRIQUE M.

REVISTA DE BIOLOGíA TROPICAL

REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA TROPICAL

Lugar: Turrialba; Año: 2014 vol. 63 p. 339 - 351

0034-7744

The relative size of some echinoids Aristotle´s lantern varies in relation to the food availability. Therefore it can be used to infer the environment in which a sample population lived. The present work evaluated the Aristotle´s lantern plasticity of Arbacia dufresnii at the Patagonic Atlantic coast. The test diameter of samples from different gulfs was measured, the weight and high of the lanterns and jaw and rotula lenght were used to find differences through classic and geometric morphometric techniques. Since results of both techniques were sometimes contradictory, it is highlighted the importance of shape conservation during the analysis. The largest relative length of the jaw was measured in individuals from disturbed areas dominated by the invasive algae Undaria pinnatifida.