Purple Sea Urchin – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Overview

Species Common Name Purple Sea Urchin
Species Scientific Name Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Ecoregions

Nearshore

The Nearshore ecoregion includes a variety of habitats ranging from submerged high-relief rocky reefs to broad expanses of intertidal mudflats in estuaries and hosts a vast array of fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, birds, plants, and micro-organisms. This ecoregion encompasses the area from the outer boundary of Oregon’s Territorial Sea to the supra-tidal zone, and up into the estuaries.

Special needs

Purple sea urchins occur only in rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal habitat.

Limiting factors

Larval supplies and episodic recruitment affect abundance and distribution.

Data gaps

Describe population dynamics. Investigate variability in recruitment in relation to headlands.

Conservation actions

Monitor status of populations at index sites. Gather information to fill data gaps. Manage for sustainable harvest.