Compte-rendu d'une expérience sur les preferenda alimentaires de Paracentrotus lividus (Echinoidea) à Banyuls-sur-Mer.

In laboratory tanks, sea urchins starved for 3 days before use were given pairs of algal species to select and feed from. Gut content analysis showed that Paracentrotus lividus fed selectively on these algae. In summer, the range of feeding preferences, from "preferred" to "non preferred" species, was: Ulva rigida, Cystoseira mediterranea, Codium fragile and Gelidium latifolium. In winter: Cystoseira crinita, Codium fragile, Ulva rigida and Sphaerococcus coronopifolius. The observation, at times intervals, of the algal species actually grazed by individuals was not consistent with gut content analysis.