Echinoderm

Echinoderms evolved from animals with bilateral symmetry. Although adult echinoderms possess pentaradial symmetry, their larvae are ciliated, free-swimming organisms with bilateral symmetry. Later, during metamorphosis, the left side of the body grows at the expense of the right side, which is eventually absorbed. The left side then grows in a pentaradially symmetric fashion, in which the body is arranged in five parts around a central axis. Within the Asterozoa, there are a few exceptions from the rule. Most starfish in the genus Leptasterias have six arms, although five-armed individuals can occur. The Brisingida also contain some six-armed species. Amongst the brittle stars, six-armed species such as Ophiothela danae, Ophiactis savignyi and Ophionotus hexactis exist, and Ophiacantha vivipara often has more than six.

Echinoderms are globally distributed in almost all depths, latitudes and environments in the ocean. Living echinoderms are known from between 0 to over 10,000 meters. Adults are mainly benthic, living on the seabed, whereas larvae are often pelagic, living as plankton in the open ocean. Some holothuroid adults such as Pelagothuria are pelagic. In the fossil record, some crinoids were pseudo-planktonic, attaching themselves to floating logs and debris. Some Paleozoic taxa displayed this life mode, before competition from organisms such as barnacles restricted the extent of the behaviour.

The modes of feeding vary greatly between the different echinoderm taxa. Crinoids and some brittle stars tend to be passive filter-feeders, enmeshing suspended particles from passing water. Most sea urchins are grazers; sea cucumbers are deposit feeders; and the majority of starfish are active hunters.

Crinoids catch food particles using the tube feet on their outspread pinnules, move them into the ambulacral grooves, wrap them in mucus, and convey them to the mouth using the cilia lining the grooves. The exact dietary requirements of crinoids have been little researched, but in the laboratory, they can be fed with diatoms.

Echinoderms are numerous invertebrates whose adults play an important role in benthic ecosystems, while the larvae are a major component of the plankton. Among the ecological roles of adults are the grazing of sea urchins, the sediment processing of heart urchins, and the suspension and deposit feeding of crinoids and sea cucumbers. Some sea urchins can bore into solid rock, destabilising rock faces and releasing nutrients into the ocean. Coral reefs are also bored into in this way, but the rate of accretion of carbonate material is often greater than the erosion produced by the sea urchin. Echinoderms sequester about 0.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year as calcium carbonate, making them important contributors in the global carbon cycle.

Echinoderms become sexually mature after approximately two to three years, depending on the species and the environmental conditions. Almost all species have separate male and female sexes, though some are hermaphroditic. The eggs and sperm cells are typically released into open water, where fertilisation takes place. The release of sperm and eggs is synchronised in some species, usually with regard to the lunar cycle. In other species, individuals may aggregate during the reproductive season, increasing the likelihood of successful fertilisation. Internal fertilisation has been observed in three species of sea star, three brittle stars and a deep-water sea cucumber. Even at abyssal depths, where no light penetrates, echinoderms often synchronise their reproductive activity.

In 2019, 129,052 tonnes of echinoderms were harvested. The majority of these were sea cucumbers (59,262 tonnes) and sea urchins (66,341 tonnes). These are used mainly for food, but also in traditional Chinese medicine. Sea cucumbers are considered a delicacy in some countries of southeast Asia; as such, they are in imminent danger of being over-harvested. Popular species include the pineapple roller Thelenota ananas (susuhan) and the red sea cucumber Holothuria edulis. These and other species are colloquially known as bêche de mer or trepang in China and Indonesia. The sea cucumbers are boiled for twenty minutes and then dried both naturally and later over a fire which gives them a smoky tang. In China, they are used as a basis for gelatinous soups and stews. Both male and female gonads of sea urchins are consumed, particularly in Japan and France.