Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of the sea cucumber Holothuria arguinensis on a rocky‑reef coast (Northeast Atlantic)

• Published in: Estuaries and Coasts
• Main Authors: Silva, F. Azevedo e, Brito, A.C., Pombo, A., Simões, T., Marques, T.A., Rocha, C., Madruga, A.S., Sousa, J., Venâncio, E., Félix, P.M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2023
• Subjects: Holothurians; Size; Density; Habitat preferences; Environmental parameters; Portugal; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/8759; https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01201-1

Open access funding provided by FCT|FCCN (b-on). This work was funded by the Operational Programme Mar2020 MAR-02.01.01-FEAMP-0052 “Newcumber-Avanços para o cultivo sustentável de pepinos do mar”. This work was also supported by national funds through FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the strategic projects MARE (UIDB/04292/2020) Associate Laboratory ARNET (LA/P/0069/2020), CEAUL (UIDB/00006/2020), A.C. Brito with the Scientific Stimulus Programme–CEECIND/00095/2017, A. Pombo by the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Institutional Call-CEECINST/00051/2018 and F. Azevedo e Silva by the individual research grant (SFRH/BD/09563/2020). The demand for sea cucumbers from the NE-Atlantic is increasing as a consequence of the depletion of stocks that historically supplied Asian markets. Some species from the NE-Atlantic are already showing overfishing signs due to either inefficient policies or their total absence, and they do not offer any margins of sustainability to sea cucumber fisheries. The current lack of knowledge of biological and ecological traits has led to ineffective protection of those species. Holothuria arguinensis is a good example of a temperate sea cucumber species suffering from the effects of unregulated and illegal harvest. This study aims to determine the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of H. arguinensis, assessing density and size-class structure in a NE-Atlantic population, in SW Portugal, as a function of environmental conditions. Sampling was done every 1.5 months at 6 stations defined according to habitat heterogeneity, following the coastline from the mouth of the Sado estuary to marine coastal areas. At each station, there were two habitats (rocky substrate and sandy areas) sampled through SCUBA diving along 30-m random transects, each with three replicates. Individuals were counted and measured (total length) and individual behavioural parameters, such as sheltering and settlement surface, were recorded. Water column parameters, sediment composition, and ...