At the end of the regeneration experiment, oral width and length of the regenerated arm were measured on each animal. Three animals of different sizes were selected for the calcium uptake experiment and placed in beakers containing 45Ca for 24 h. Oral width was measured on the remaining animals. After exposure to 45Ca, the soft parts of the animals were solubilized. The hard parts were then dissolved and the radioactivity of the ossicles was measured with a liquid scintillation counter. Lower survival in the second tub was caused by technical problems affecting the seawater and air delivery systems to that tub only.
Results presented here are for the chamber with higher survival.
While the gonads appeared to be mature, there was no evidence of spawning. Sediment Exposure Brittlestar survival was not affected in any of the sediment exposures. Oral width and arm regeneration were significantly reduced among animals exposed to Los Angeles Harbor sediments. Change in oral width showed the largest difference from the control, followed by calcium uptake, and arm regeneration. Discussion Long-Term Culture Survival of Amphiodia urtica was high for 69 weeks of laboratory culture.