Two hundred and twenty-seven sea-urchins, Brissopsis lyrifera, were collected in the Gulf of Lions between 60 and ca 1000 m depth, over a 2 1/2 year period. The reproductive cycle was found to be independent of depth. Males and females were sexually mature at the end of summer. After a period of gonadal rest during winter, gametogenesis resumed at the beginning of spring. Specific enzymatic reactions on gut extracts, after PAA-electrophoresis, indicated that B. lyifera is not a very polymorphic species and is generally homozygotic at the tested loci, except for esterases. Individual regrouping (discriminant factorial analysis) did not appear to be sensitive to the depth factor. On the contrary, a relationship between zymogrammes of the digestive tube and the sampling season was enhanced when sex and maturation stage were considered (main concerned activities: alkaline phosphate ALK1 and alpha-amylase AMY1 and AMY2), especially for females. These results indicate that enzymatic activities may be seasonal. They also indicate metabolic differences dependent upon the sex in somatic tissues, on one hand, and depending on environmental fluctuations on the other. Biological cycles are seasonal in the Mediterranean Sea, to 1000 m. In the case of B. lyrifera, a relationship could be established between flux increases of sediment carbon and sterols in winter and the beginning of gametogenesis. It is concluded that physiological signals, studied at different depths, would permit us to appreciate biological components of the margin ecosystem dynamics. This will also help define the place of life in the general oceanic fluxes (matter and energy).
