The sand dollar, Astriclypeus manni is commonly encountered on a subtldal sand bottom along the coast of Cheju Island. Limited information have been reported on their biology despite their natural abundance. This study firstly reports ecology and an a...
The sand dollar, Astriclypeus manni is commonly encountered on a subtldal sand bottom along the coast of Cheju Island. Limited information have been reported on their biology despite their natural abundance. This study firstly reports ecology and an annual reproductive cycle of the sand dollars present at Hamdock, northern coast of Cheju Island.
1. A. manni collected from Hamdock revealed that they are 80 to 200 mm in test diameter Sediment grain size analysis indicated that A. manni mostly occurs on medium (particle diameter of 500 ㎛) to very find sand (particle diameter of 125 ㎛), particularly on fine sand (particle diameter of 250 ㎛), Internal morphology and in situ observations on their feeding habIt indicated that A. manni is a deposit feeder.
2. Gonadal tissues of the male were yellow in color whIle female gonads appeared to be purple. Fully mature eggs, with a mean dIameter of 381 ㎛, and sperm were observed from the histological slides of the sand dollars collected in late July to August, suggesting that A. manni spawn during July to August when water temperature reaches 20.5 to 24 ℃.
3. Observation of gut contents indicated that A. manni feed inorganic and organic detritus and living material. Inorganic particles included