Arctic Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis)

Invertebrate · GBIF taxon 2278856

Arctic Green Sea Urchin

Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Also known as Green Sea Urchin, Northern Sea Urchin

Green sea urchins are keystone kelp-grazers capable of transforming lush offshore forests into barren rockscapes when predator populations decline. They creep along rocky reefs and boulder fields using hundreds of tiny, suction-tipped tube feet coordinated with mobile defensive spines. In early spring, adults aggregate on sunlit shallows to broadcast millions of gametes into icy ocean currents.

MarineHerbivorousCircumpolar

Licensed reference"Green sea urchin" by lightmatter is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. · cc-by

—observations

—countries

—peak records

Not EvaluatedConservation status

Key facts

Diet & prey

Bull kelp
Sugar kelp
Encrusting coralline algae

Predators

Sea otter
Wolf eel
Common eider

ThreatsOcean warming, marine heatwaves, and commercial overharvesting

HabitatsRocky intertidal zones, subtidal kelp beds, and boulder reefs down to 1,100 m

Life span20–50 years

Size / weightNot available

Classification

FamilyStrongylocentrotidae
SpeciesStrongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Range & activity

Range data is not available yet.

Safe observation

Interaction riskLow

Low
Moderate
High
Very high

Why interaction risk is low: Spines can puncture bare skin; wear protective footwear in tide pools and do not handle barehanded.

Responsible observation

Footwear: Wear sturdy water shoes or boots when wading across rocky low-tide shallows to avoid painful punctures.
Handling: Never pry individuals off rocks, as their tube feet tear easily and injure the animal.
Observation: Watch underwater with a mask at slack tide to see their feeding jaws, known as Aristotle's lantern, scraping algae.

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