Reproductive biology of the sea cucumber Holothuria sanctori (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) (original) (raw)
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Reproductive Biology of the Sea Cucumber Holothuria mammata (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)
Biology
Holothuria mammata is one of the most valuable species of sea cucumber, as well as one of the main target species harvested in the Mediterranean and NE-Atlantic regions. This study aims to describe the reproductive cycle of H. mammata in a coastal area of southwest Portugal. Monthly samplings were carried out for 19 months, with the concomitant collection of environmental data and biometric data. H. mammata had a sex ratio of 1:1.2 (male:female) and a size at first maturity of 142 mm for males and 167 mm for females. The gonadosomatic index (GI) peaked between April and May for both sexes. Gonad development started when days had a shorter photoperiod (9 to 13 h of sunlight) and lower seawater temperature (<15 °C), and spawning occurred later, with longer photoperiod (13 to 15 h of sunlight) and higher seawater temperature (>15 °C) and chlorophyll-a concentrations. The development of new studies to increase the biological and ecological knowledge of the populations of H. mammat...
Marine Biology, 2003
The reproductive status of the holothuroid species Isostichopus badionotus (Selenka, 1867) and Holothuria mexicana (Ludwig, 1875) was studied over 16 months in Bocas del Toro (Panama), from November 1999 to February 2001. Sexual reproduction was evaluated by the gonad index method, and by histology of gonad development. In addition, population structure was assessed based on sex ratio, minimum reproductive size, and length and weight distributions of males and females. The sex ratio in both species was 1:1, with a unimodal population distribution composed mainly of mature individuals. The minimum reproductive length and weight were 13–20 cm and 150 g, respectively, for both species, although reproductive individuals 10 cm in length were also found. A consistently higher gonad index was observed in H. mexicana, due to a high proportion of mature females and males and high gonad indices in most monthly samples. Gametogenesis and spawning patterns seemed to occur throughout the year, with periods of enhanced activity. Two periods of maximum reproductive activity were tentatively identified: July–November for I. badionotus and February–July for H. mexicana, but neither species had a single, sharply defined annual spawning event. Further work on these exploited holothuroids should examine the relationships between reproduction and environmental factors and between reproductive status and recruitment.
Revista De Biologia Tropical, 2021
Introduction: The exploitation of the sea cucumber (Holothuria (Panningothuria) forskali) in Ría de Vigo (NW Spain) is recent (2015) and it has been done until now with scarce or no information about some key biological aspects as reproduction, recruitment or growth. Objective: To describe the reproductive cycle of H. forskali in Ría de Vigo. Methods: We sampled fortnightly throughout 2018. We calculated gonadal condition indices (GCI) and gametogenic stages by classic histological methods. Results: The reproductive cycle of H. forskali in the Ría de Vigo is characterized by a sexual resting stage during spring, when temperature and daylight hours are lower; the beginning of gametogenesis during summer, when temperature is higher, daylight hours longer and the sea bottom is rich in nutrients; then, a period of spawns interspersed with a gonadal restoration during autumn and winter, when temperature is lower and food is scarce. Sex ratio is 1:1, however, the studied population is not...
Aquaculture International, 2008
The annual reproductive cycle of the commercial sea cucumber Holothuria spinifera was studied in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India, from September 2000 to October 2001, by macroscopic and microscopic examination of gonad tubule, gonad index and histology of gametogenic stages, to determine the spawning pattern. The gonad consists of long tubules with uniform development. It does not confirm the progressive tubule recruitment model described for other holothurians. The maximum percentage of mature animals, gonad and fecundity indices, tubule length and diameter, with the observations on gonad histology, ascertained that H. spinifera had the peak gametogenic activity
Fisheries Research, 2017
New fisheries in the western Mediterranean and north eastern Atlantic target the sea cucumbers Holothuria arguinensis and H. mammata; however, lack of biological information hinders management decisions. Here, the reproductive biology of populations the two species was investigated in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Different populations located along a narrow latitudinal range displayed the same general reproductive pattern of summer-autumn spawning. However, significant differences in size, gonadal production and maturity profile between locations suggests the influence of site-specific factors. In Sagres and Ria Formosa H. arguinensis individuals were larger and had larger gonads than in Olhos de Água, which had relatively more immature animals. The spawning and active gametogenesis periods were also longer in Sagres, possibly linked to specificity of food availability and tidal conditions. Ria Formosa also had larger H. mammata individuals with larger gonads than in Murcia and Olhos de Água, possibly reflecting differences in feeding activity in different substrates (muddy/sandy vs rocky). Gametogenesis in H. arguinensis may be triggered by decreasing photoperiod and temperature, and spawning by increasing temperature. Altogether, these results, which include fecundity and size at first maturity, provide an important basis for the scientific management of sea cucumber fisheries in the region.
Artikel Filum Echinodermata Taksonomi Hewan, 2021
This study is a first contribution on the reproductive biology of Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori from the Algerian coastline in the southwestern Mediterranean. Sampling was conducted at two sites in central Algeria, one (Ain Taggourait, w. Tipasa) where there is little anthropogenic influence and another (Tamentefoust, w. Alger) where there are two major sources of pollution from Oued el Harrach and Oued el Hamiz effluents which contain particulate organic matter. Significant differences in sea cucumber reproduction were observed between the two sites. This could be due to the difference in organic matter noted in the sediment of the two study sites. However, temporal similarities of the gonad index (GI) and the sexual maturity stages suggest that the reproductive cycle of H. (P.) sanctori is annual with the main spawning event taking place from June to October. Spawning is of high intensity in the Bay of Bou Ismail (Ain Taggourait) and spread out over time in the Bay of Algiers (Tamentefoust), reflecting an environment sufficiently rich in food to insure reproduction. We also show that gonad maturation of males and females was synchronized. Temperature is the most likely factor influencing the reproductive cycle and spawning. At the study sites, H. (P.) sanctori had a winter sexual resting phase, followed by maturation during spring, before spawning in summer. However, there was a slight lag to the start of spawning at the two study sites.
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2022
An organism's maximum gonad investment (MGI) typically indicates its reproductive season and is often measured by the peak of the gonadosomatic index. Since external sexual dimorphism is often not evident, intrinsic sex differences remain unstudied. We analysed the reproductive seasonality of each sex of the broadcast-spawning sea cucumber Holothuria (Halodeima) inornata in two populations (Caleta de Campos, Michoacán ‘CC’ and Puerto Madero, Chiapas ‘PM’) in the southern coast of the Mexican Pacific by examining: intensity and duration of MGI, frequency of each gonadal developmental stage (GDS) through time, sexual asymmetry in GSI, sexual asymmetry in GDS, and adult sex ratio. We observed a trade-off between the intensity (%) and duration (months) of each sex's MGI: as intensity decreases, duration increases and conversely. The frequency of ripe and spawning stages was consistently higher in females than males. Sexual asymmetry in GSI was slightly female-biased in the PM population, but male-biased in the CC population. Sexual asymmetry in GDS showed a more recurrent sexual equality at PM than at CC. The adult sex ratio of each population did not differ significantly from unity, but showed a near-significant trend for male bias in the CC. Although H. inornata exhibited different MGI responses between males and females and more markedly in CC than in PM, it also showed a synchronized relation between its mass investment (GSI) and physiological investment (GDS), possibly reflecting an optimum reproductive strategy. Lastly, changes in GSI were not underpinned by changes in local temperature, but rather by regional temperature.
Apostologamvrou C, Hatziioannou M, Exadactylos A, Vafidis D , 2024
Holothuria poli is one of the most in-demand sea cucumber species and has attracted the interest of markets in Mediterranean regions. The present study is the first attempt to determine the reproductive cycle of H. poli in a coastal area of the Central Aegean Sea. Samples of H. poli as well as environmental and biometric data were collected monthly for 1 year. The sample population exhibited a female predominance, a size at first maturation of 156.3 mm and a distinctive reproductive pattern that reached its mature stage in the summer months. These findings contribute to the overall understanding of the reproductive physiology of the species and provide information for the sustainable management of sea cucumber stocks in the Hellenic Seas.