One generation of inbreeding does not affect covering behavior of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

To our knowledge, the genetic basis of covering behavior has never been investigated in sea urchins, although a number of hypotheses are well established to explain its potential significance since it was first documented more than 100years ago. Whether there is a behavioral shift from juveniles to adults is also unknown in covering behavior. Here, we inbred sea urchins by one generation of full- and half-sibling inbreeding and then investigated the effects of inbreeding and age on covering behavior of Strongylocentrotus intermedius. Neither one generation of inbreeding nor age significantly affected time to first covering and number of shells used for covering according to both parametric and nonparametric analyses (p>0.05). The present study clearly indicates that covering behavior is innate in spite of being susceptible to environmental conditions. Further studies should be carried out to test whether two and three generations of inbreeding can significantly affect covering behavior of sea urchins.