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The effect of sand as a physical barrier to fertilization succes in the sea urchin

Alejandro Acevedo November 14th, 2003
Biological Sciences 51
TF: Lauren Griffin

The effect of sand as a physical barrier to fertilization success in the
sea urchin, Lytechinus pictus.

Introduction:
Coral reefs around the world provide a number of critical ecological functions in the marine ecosystem, as they are tightly integrated into the life cycles of a stunning number of highly diverse marine organisms. Among the numerous groups of organisms that make these reefs their homes, the sea urchin is especially famous as a traditional subject of study for developmental biology, and it is the subject of the experiment described in this work.
Sea urchins are commonly referred to as broadcast spawners, due to the immense number of gametes released into the water during fertilization . This trait makes sea urchins an ideal model of study for embryonic development, because their gametes are easy to collect. Additionally, since sea urchi...

Posted by: Tricia F. Doyle

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