Factors influencing the biomineralization of sea urchins

Geochemical studies of Recent echinoids from a variety of environments have shown that incorporation of trace elements into their skeleton is partly dependent on environmental factors such as salinity. However, the patterns in the distribution of most of the elements studied are highly variable across taxa and regions of origin, indicating that the distribution is affected by both environmental and physiological factors, depending on the species and environment. We also found that sea urchins can control the amount of magnesium and possibly organic compounds present in their skeletons and thus their mechanical proprieties like nanohardness.