GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Sea urchins eat using a structure called Aristotle’s lantern. It is made up of five hard plates that come together like a beak. They use their beak-like mouth to scrape rocks clean of algae. This scraping can wear down the plates–so sea urchin teeth grow to replace worn-down ones.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sea urchins feed on virtually all types of algae including calcareous algae (e.g. coralline algae). Hence, if calcareous algae are desirable, the number of urchins kept in a system should be limited to allow calcareous algae to grow.

Detailed explanation-3: -Urchins contribute to reef resilience by grazing algae and providing settlement space for corals, thereby helping to maintain conditions necessary for coral communities to recover after acute disturbances (such as storms or bleaching events).

Detailed explanation-4: -Sea urchins possess an intricate mouth apparatus that’s located on the underside of their bodies-it’s referred to as an Aristotle’s Lantern! This muscular system is comprised of a powerful set of jaws and five sharp teeth-like structures that can move in various directions.

Detailed explanation-5: -Science is never dull. To survive in a tumultuous environment, sea urchins literally eat through stone, using their teeth to carve out nooks where the spiny creatures hide from predators and protect themselves from the crashing surf on the rocky shores and tide pools where they live.