
Two species of sea urchins live practically side by side on sandy bottoms. The two species appear to have the same diet: drift seaweeds and other bits of organic matter. They are able to live in the same environment with minimal competition. How might they be able to share their habitat and food

To determine: The way in which two species of sea urchins might be able to share their habitat and food resources.
Introduction: Coexistence of ecologically similar species may be defined as the act of cohabitation between similar species due to the difference in their use of potentially limiting resources such as food and water.
Explanation of Solution
Sea urchins are the marine creatures that inhabit the oceans all over the world. They can live in a variety of environments such as on rock pools, muds, coral reefs, and sea grass beds. Along with these, they can also lodge themselves half way into the surface of the sand, holes, or muds.
Coexistence of ecologically similar sea urchins might be possible when the competition between them reduces due to the reasons as follows:
- Being active at different times of the day.
- Feeding at different times of the day.
- Feeding at different levels in the sand. From the two species, one species may pick up the organic material slightly deeper in the sand than the other. This may cause slight differences in their feeding manner or food resource, which may help in the coexistence of sea urchins in the same habitat.
- Feeding at different areas. From the two species, one species may migrate to the rocky bottoms at night to graze on a different type of food.
- Differential ability to digest the organic material and/or the drift algae.
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Chapter 10 Solutions
Marine Biology (Botany, Zoology, Ecology and Evolution)
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