Growth, ingestion rates, and FCR in early juveniles of L. albus were
positively related with the feeding frequency and did not show significant
evidence of a compensatorymechanismwith a decrease in the frequency
of food availability. In L. variegatus adults, Lawrence et al. (2003)
found that the total amount of food ingested was greater in those fed
every day, although the daily ingestion rate was greater in individuals
fed intermittently. In Paracentrotus lividus, McCarron et al. (2009)
found that intermittent feeding regimes (individuals fed 50% of the
time) had a significant negative impact on the growth of small
(10.0–12.9 mm) and medium individuals (19.5–23.0 mm) but had no
effect on larger individuals (29.0–33.5 mm). These authors found that
continuously fed small sea urchins ate significantly more feed per day
than intermittently fed sea urchins. In S. droebachiensis, James and
Siikavuopio (2012) found that early juveniles (4.1 ± 0.1 mm) fed continuously
had a significantly higher feed ingestion than intermittent
regimes (individuals fed 50% of the time in three variants: fed 1,2 or 4
week/starved 1, 2 or 4 weeks). These authors indicated that because
the metabolism of smaller sea urchins is higher than that of larger sea
urchins, they require more regular feeding to maintain growth rates.
They recommend a continuous feeding as the best dietary treatment
in terms of growth for early juveniles of S. droebachiensis. The current
study demonstrated that early juveniles of L. albus need continuous
feeding to grow. However, further studies are required to confirm the
absence of compensatory mechanisms to respond to a decrease in
food availability in L. albus juveniles.