A novel technique for tagging the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum

Abstract

We describe a new protocol for tagging the long‐spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum to study the daily activity patterns of this echinoid. The technique consists of the in situ introduction of a fishing hook into the periproctal membrane of individual D. antillarum with the help of tweezers, thus allowing the individual identification of tagged urchins. Preliminary tests displayed the effectiveness of this method.