Publisher's Synopsis
One of the main objectives of this work is to analyze the data on reproduction and growth that might be useful in practical aquaculture and the industry. Hence, the scope of investigations on echinoderms has been confined to economically important species - sea cucumbers, sea urchins and sea stars. Members of the first two classes, such as bivalves, represent objects of aquaculture and industry, while sea stars damage them by attacking molluscs. This wide-ranging material has been presented within a conceptual framework of types of reproductive strategy, classified as: planktotrophic larval, lecithotrophic larval and lecithotrophic embryonic. The book provides a detailed description of planktotrphic larval reproductive strategy and describes its consequences on the ecology, population and other specific features.
