Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers
International audience Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are large and abundant members of marine benthic communities. Overexploitation worldwide has raised concern because they have important functions within ecosystems. The ecological roles of commercially exploited sea cucumbers (Aspid...
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ftunivreunion:oai:HAL:hal-01449285v1 2024-02-11T10:07:34+01:00 Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers Purcell, Steven, W. Conand, Chantal Uthicke, Sven Byrne, Maria Ecologie marine tropicale dans les Océans Pacifique et Indien (ENTROPIE Réunion ) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2016 https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 en eng HAL CCSD Taylor & Francis hal-01449285 https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 ISSN: 0078-3218 EISSN: 2154-9125 Oceanography and marine biology https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 Oceanography and marine biology, 2016, 54, pp.367--386 [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2016 ftunivreunion 2024-01-23T23:41:04Z International audience Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are large and abundant members of marine benthic communities. Overexploitation worldwide has raised concern because they have important functions within ecosystems. The ecological roles of commercially exploited sea cucumbers (Aspidochirotida and Dendrochirotida) are reviewed here, focusing on recent literature. Of the more than 70 species commercially exploited, at least 12 regularly bury into sand and mud, playing major roles in bioturbation. Most aspidochirotids are deposit-feeders, reducing the organic load and redistributing surface sediments, making them bioremediators for coastal mariculture. Sea cucumbers excrete inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, enhancing the productivity of benthic biota. This form of nutrient recycling is crucial in ecosystems in oligotrophic waters such as coral reefs. Feeding and excretion by sea cucumbers also act to increase seawater alkalinity which contributes to local buffering of ocean acidification. Sea cucumbers host more than 200 species of parasitic and commensal symbionts from seven phyla, thereby enhancing ecosystem biodiversity. They are preyed on by many taxa, thereby transferring animal tissue and nutrients (derived from detritus and microalgae) to higher trophic levels. Overexploitation of sea cucumbers is likely to decrease sediment health, reduce nutrient recycling and potential benefits of deposit-feeding to seawater chemistry, diminish biodiversity of associated symbionts, and reduce the transfer of organic matter from detritus to higher trophic levels. Ecosystem-based fisheries management needs to consider the importance of sea cucumbers in marine ecosystems and implement regulatory measures to safeguard their ecological roles. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Université de la Réunion: HAL |
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Université de la Réunion: HAL |
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English |
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[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
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[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes Purcell, Steven, W. Conand, Chantal Uthicke, Sven Byrne, Maria Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
topic_facet |
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
description |
International audience Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are large and abundant members of marine benthic communities. Overexploitation worldwide has raised concern because they have important functions within ecosystems. The ecological roles of commercially exploited sea cucumbers (Aspidochirotida and Dendrochirotida) are reviewed here, focusing on recent literature. Of the more than 70 species commercially exploited, at least 12 regularly bury into sand and mud, playing major roles in bioturbation. Most aspidochirotids are deposit-feeders, reducing the organic load and redistributing surface sediments, making them bioremediators for coastal mariculture. Sea cucumbers excrete inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, enhancing the productivity of benthic biota. This form of nutrient recycling is crucial in ecosystems in oligotrophic waters such as coral reefs. Feeding and excretion by sea cucumbers also act to increase seawater alkalinity which contributes to local buffering of ocean acidification. Sea cucumbers host more than 200 species of parasitic and commensal symbionts from seven phyla, thereby enhancing ecosystem biodiversity. They are preyed on by many taxa, thereby transferring animal tissue and nutrients (derived from detritus and microalgae) to higher trophic levels. Overexploitation of sea cucumbers is likely to decrease sediment health, reduce nutrient recycling and potential benefits of deposit-feeding to seawater chemistry, diminish biodiversity of associated symbionts, and reduce the transfer of organic matter from detritus to higher trophic levels. Ecosystem-based fisheries management needs to consider the importance of sea cucumbers in marine ecosystems and implement regulatory measures to safeguard their ecological roles. |
author2 |
Ecologie marine tropicale dans les Océans Pacifique et Indien (ENTROPIE Réunion ) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Purcell, Steven, W. Conand, Chantal Uthicke, Sven Byrne, Maria |
author_facet |
Purcell, Steven, W. Conand, Chantal Uthicke, Sven Byrne, Maria |
author_sort |
Purcell, Steven, W. |
title |
Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
title_short |
Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
title_full |
Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
title_fullStr |
Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
title_sort |
ecological roles of exploited sea cucumbers |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
ISSN: 0078-3218 EISSN: 2154-9125 Oceanography and marine biology https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 Oceanography and marine biology, 2016, 54, pp.367--386 |
op_relation |
hal-01449285 https://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01449285 |
_version_ |
1790606184659550208 |