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Effect of three tagging methods on the growth and survival of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Abstract:

We evaluated the effect of tetracycline (a fluorescent tag) and two different types of internal tags, Decimal Coded Wire Tags (CWT) and Passive Integrated Transponder tags (PIT) used alone or in combination on growth rates, survival, tag retention, and post-tagging stress of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Stimpson), under laboratory conditions (150 days). Specimens had a size range between 12.5 and 54.0 mm in diameter. Our results suggest that the tetracycline, PIT, and CWT (or their combination) do not affect growth or survival of purple urchins. PIT tags can be successfully inserted into urchins over 22.7 mm without jeopardizing growth or survival. Urchin's growth under different tagging treatments was similar to the control groups. Urchins that were tagged twice lost their tags after two days, and died in less than a month. Post-tagging stress (RAC) was significantly affected by urchin size but not by tagging methods.