Total body size, mass or linear measurements, and gonad mass or volumes have been recorded for the North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, and Lytechinus pictus by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1954 to 2009. Some dissections included other body components such as the gut, body wall, and Aristotle's lantern, and some dissections included both wet and dry mass. There are numerous peer‐reviewed publications that have used some of these data, but some data have appeared only in graduate theses or in the gray literature. There also are data that have never appeared outside the original data sheets. Historically, data were used to describe reproductive cycles and then to compare responses to stressors such as food limitation or pollution. Differences in temperature among sites also have been explored. More recently, dissection data have linked gonad development to ocean conditions, so called bottom‐up forcing. The data set presented here is a historical record of gonad development for a common group of marine invertebrates in intertidal and nearshore environments, which can be used to test hypotheses concerning future changes associated with climate change and ocean acidification along the Pacific Coast of North America.

RÉSUMÉ Lawrence V. BASCH a, b and John S. PEARSE a a Biology Board of Studies and Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Califomia, Santa Cruz, Califomia, 95064, U.S.A. b Present address: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Marine Life Research Group, University of Califomia San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, Califomia, 92093-0201, U.S.A. Received 16/02/95, in revised form 16/11/95, accepted 21/11/95. Relationships between phytoplankton biomass and recruitment strength of benthic invertebrates with feeding larvae have been considered only in the numerical sense, not in terms of the condition of individuals at settlement. Since material and energy in sorne larval structures is transformed at metamorphosis into postlarval structures, and since their development is food-dependent, we hypothesized that plankton food availability links the ecology of the transition between invertebrate larvae and juveniles. W e tested this hypothesis in laboratory and field experiments with the sea star Asterina miniata. Sibling larvae were reared in sea water containing natural phytoplankton at three concentrations simulating either (1) oligotrophic offshore, (2) temperate nearshore, or (3) eutrophie bloom water masses. Other siblings were reared in mesh-covered field chambers with naturally varying nearshore plankton assemblages. Competent larvae were produced in an food conditions, but exhibited differences related to feeding history. Those in oligotrophic water had small, transparent bodies and juvenile rudiments, few or no body ossicles, and small brachiolarian arms and papillae. In contrast, larvae reared at higher food levels were progressively larger, more opaque, pigmented and ossified, and had developed further. Competent larvae differed in swimming and substrate searching behaviors and the times to complete settlement and metamorphosis were inversely related to larval food abundance. The preferred type and orientation of substrates settled on by larvae also appeared to be related to larval feeding his tory, as did initial juvenile size and appearance. Differences in larval food availability appear to have a strong influence on the ecological and life history transitions occurring before, at, and after settlement and metamorphosis. Effets des facteurs de l'environnement sur la nutrition larvaire, la fixation et la métamorphose d'un échinoderme de région tempérée. Les relations entre la biomasse du phytoplancton et l'importance du recrutement des invertébrés benthiques à larves nourries ont fait 1' objet d'études consacrées uniquement à l'importance numérique des recrues et non à leur état au moment de la fixation. L'énergie des structures larvaires qui, à la métamorphose, se transforment en structures post-larvaires, dépend de la nourriture que les larves ont

The depauperate marine ecosystems of the Hawaiian Archipelago share a high proportion of species with the southern and western Pacific, indicating historical and/or ongoing connections across the large oceanic expanse separating Hawaii from its nearest neighbors. The rate and direction of these interactions are, however, unknown. While previous biogeographic studies have consistently described Hawaii as a diversity sink, prevailing currents likely offer opportunities for larval export. To assess interactions between the remote reefs of the Hawaiian Archipelago and the species rich communities of the Central and West Pacific, we surveyed 14 nuclear microsatellite loci (nDNA; n = 857) and a 614 bp segment of mitochondrial cytochrome b (mtDNA; n = 654) in the Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). Concordant frequency shifts in both nDNA and mtDNA reveal significant population differentiation among three West Pacific sites and Hawaii (nDNA F' CT = 0.116, mtDNA ϕ CT = 0.098, P < 0.001). SAMOVA analyses of microsatellite data additionally indicate fine scale differentiation within the 2600 km Hawaiian Archipelago (F' SC = 0.026; P < 0.001), with implications for management of this heavily-exploited aquarium fish. Mismatch analyses indicate the oldest contemporary populations are in the Hawaiian Archipelago (circa 318,000 y), with younger populations in the West Pacific (91,000 - 175,000 y). Estimates of Yellow Tang historical demography contradict expectations of Hawaii as a population sink, and instead indicate asymmetrical gene flow, with Hawaii exporting rather than importing Yellow Tang larvae.

Ecological influences on reproduction in sea urchins, particularly photoperiod, have been studied extensively. Effects of proximate environmental factors (temperature, water motion, food) on reproduction of purple urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Stimpson, 1857), were sampled monthly for 2 yrs for intertidal, and subtidal populations at the same latitude in the Point Loma kelp forest, San Diego, California, USA. Gonad index (GI) was highest at 8 m, intermediate in the intertidal, and lowest at 18 m. GI increased across sites from spring through autumn and decreased sharply from late autumn through early winter. Stomach index (SI) peaked in summer and in autumn-winter. Increases in SI followed temporal peaks in drift plant abundance, but preceded increases in GI. Temperatures ranged from 11-22 degrees C, varying inversely with depth. Water movements were highest at deeper sites. Spawning coincided with high wave periods. Abundance of drift macroalgal food generally increased from deep to shallow sites, with rare peaks in abundance of intertidal drift. Algal food quantity appears to regulate reproductive output, not timing. ON ratio of drift kelp was generally higher, and nitrogen correspondingly lower, at warmer temperatures or shallower depths; nitrogen was lower in drift than in live kelp. Gonadal growth, development, and spawning occurred earlier at deeper subtidal sites with faster flows, lower temperatures, and higher food quality, despite low drift abundance. Gonad production was highest intertidally despite high population density, prolonged high temperatures > 17 degrees C limiting gametogenesis, and only sporadic availability of drift. Naturally co-occurring abiotic and biotic factors combine to affect reproduction in S. purpuratus.

Relationships between phytoplankton biomass and recruitment strength of benthic invertebrates with feeding larvae have been considered only in the numerical sense, not in terms of the condition of individuals at settlement. Since material and energy in some larval structures is transformed at metamorphosis into post-larval structures, and since their development is food-dependent, we hypothesized that plankton food availability links the ecology of the transition between invertebrate larvae and juveniles. We tested this hypothesis in laboratory and field experiments with the sea star Asterina miniata. Sibling larvae were reared in sea water containing natural phytoplankton at three concentrations simulating either (1) oligotrophic offshore, (2) temperate nearshore, or (3) eutrophic bloom water masses. Other siblings were reared in mesh-covered field chambers with naturally varying nearshore plankton assemblages. Competent larvae were produced in ail food conditions, but exhibited differences related to feeding history. Those in oligotrophic water had small, transparent bodies and juvenile rudiments, few or no body ossicles, and small brachiolarian arms and papillae. In contrast, larvae reared at higher food levels were progressively larger, more opaque, pigmented and ossified, and had developed further. Competent larvae differed in swimming and substrate searching behaviors and the times to complete settlement and metamorphosis were inversely related to larval food abundance. The preferred type and orientation of substrates settled on by larvae also appeared to be related to larval feeding history, as did initial juvenile size and appearance. Differences in larval food availability appear to have a strong influence on the ecological and life history transitions occurring before, at, and after settlement and metamorphosis.

Effects of larval and algal culture density and diet composition on development and survival of temperate asteroid larvae were studied in the laboratory at Santa Cruz, California, USA, during summer and fall of 1990. Larvae of Asterina miniata were reared at two densities, 0.5 or 1.0 ml-1, and fed one or two species of cultured phytoflagellates — Dunaliella tertiolecta alone or mixed with Rhodomonas sp. — at three concentrations of 5x102, 5x103, and 5x104 total cells ml-1. Algal concentration strongly influenced larval development; however, larval density also had a marked effect. Development progressed further with increasing algal concentration. Larval growth and differentiation were sometimes uncoupled; i.e., growth measures were directly related to food level, while differentiation indicators were less so. At the lowest food level, growth was negative and differentiation was arrested at early precompetent stages; these larvae never formed juvenile rudiments or brachiolar attachment structures. Development times of larvae given more food ranged from 26 to 50 d and depended directly on food availability. Development time to metamorphosis at the highest food concentration was similar for siblings fed D. tertiolecta alone or mixed with Rhodomonas sp. In contrast, when food level was an order of magnitude lower, larvae fed the algal mixture metamorphosed significantly earlier than larvae fed the unialgal diet. This suggests interactive effects of food quantity and food quality. Survival was little affected by larval or food density, except at the lowest ration. Feeding experiments in well-controlled laboratory conditions are useful to predict and compare the physiological or developmental scope of response of larvae to defined environmental factors; however, results from such studies should not be extrapolated to predict rates and processes of larval development in nature.

Population dynamics of Sterechinus neumayeri were investigated at four sites in McMurdo Sound: Cape Evans, McMurdo Station, East Cape Armitage and New Harbor. The annual formation of natural growth bands in the jaws of the Aristotle's lantern was verified by a tagging-recapture experiment. Growth functions based on natural growth bands indicated differences among stations but showed S. neumayeri to be a slow growing species, reaching its maximum diameter of 70 mm at an age of about 40 yr. Annual production ranged between 2.4 (C. Evans) and 0.65 g ash free dry mass m-2 (New Harbor) and was related to differences in food conditions. More than 95% of total production was invested in reproduction, and less than 5% was invested in somatic growth. Consumption estimates for S. neumayeri showed this species to play a significant role in the benthic trophic web of McMurdo Sound.