Effects of continuous and diel intermittent feeding regimes on food consumption, growth and gonad production of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius of different size classes

We investigated effects of a continuous and three diel feeding regimes on food consumption, growth and gonad production of cultured Strongylocentrotus intermedius of three size classes. There was no significant difference of food consumption, body weight and gonad production between nocturnal and diurnal feeding regimes of S. intermedius of all size classes, greatly challenging the old paradigm on the diel feeding preference of cultured S. intermedius. The continuous and three diel intermittent feeding regimes did not significantly affect body weight of sea urchins of all size classes. However, sea urchins in the large and small size classes which were fed continuously had significantly higher gonad wet weight and gonad index than those fed intermittently. Gonad of sea urchins in the medium size class did not change with feeding regime. The present study increases our understanding of the feeding behavior of cultured S. intermedius, with a potential of direct application in aquaculture.