Sea urchins are one of the more important marine
animals in the ecosystem and are often used as model
biological system for toxicological studies: they regulate the
growth of algal biomass in the sea and also form a source of
food for several predators in the aquatic ecosystem.
Additionally, sea urchins (such as red sea urchins) are
important fishery resources for humans (Pearse, 2006). Sea
urchins are one of the most favourable biological systems
used in toxicity experiments for a variety of reasons: 1) they
spawn a large number of gametes which can be easily
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obtained and externally fertilized; 2) their fertilization can be
properly manipulated and carried out in the laboratory; 3)
the embryo development can be studied within a few days; 4)
embryos in the beginning of the development stages are very
sensitive to pollutants and different kinds of stresses and; 5)
they provide a suitable model organism for both
ecological/developmental studies and biomineralization
processes (Pesando et al., 2003; Agnello and Roccheri, 2010;
Kobayashi, 1991; Jasny and Prunell, 2006; Wilt, 2005). Sea
urchins also offer a cost-effective experimental tool for
toxicological studies in biological systems.