TY - JOUR
T1 - Modelling the habitat preferences of the NE-Atlantic Sea cucumber Holothuria forskali
T2 - demographics and abundance
AU - Félix, P.M.
AU - Azevedo e Silva, F.
AU - Simões, T.
AU - Pombo, A.
AU - Marques, T.A.
AU - Rocha, C.
AU - Sousa, J.
AU - Venâncio, E.
AU - Brito, A.C.
N1 - This work was funded by the Operational Program 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 scope of the projects (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04292/2020, and https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/00006/2020) and the Associate Laboratory ARNET (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0069/2020), A.C. Brito with the Scientific Stimulus Program – CEECIND/00095/2017, A.P. with the under the Scientific Employment Stimulus - Institutional Call - CEECINST/00051/2018 and Francisco Azevedo e Silva and João Trigo de Sousa through the individual grants (SFRH/BD/09563/2020 and SFRH/BDANA/02949/2023).
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - Sea cucumbers' historical demand, together with the
depletion of several traditional species in the market, has popularized
new target species from new fishing grounds. Holothuria forskali
is one of those emergent species in the trade market. However, it is a
species for which there is no relevant information to allow sustainable
stock management. Fundamental knowledge of the populations' structure
and habitat preferences are key elements without which any measure is
inconsequent. This work aims to fill that gap by modelling temporal and
spatial patterns of abundance and demographic structure of this species
in a NE-Atlantic area, as a function of environmental features.For
a period of 15 months, nine regular sampling campaigns collected data
on density, individual length, individual conditions of occurrence (e.g.
sheltered, on sand, on algae cover) and environmental parameters (water
column, sediment, substrate cover and type), using random transects
throughout a costal rocky-reef, considering habitat heterogeneity and
substrate types. To determine the species' habitat preferences
Generalized Linear Models were used to model density and demographic
structure of the species as a function of environmental conditions. The
models revealed that the main drivers shaping the distribution of H. forskali
are neither abiotic nor biotic parameters of the water column, but
physical stressors, like current intensity and depth, and substrate type
in a patchy distribution pattern. Estuarine conditions are generally
avoided, although with a size-dependent opportunistic strategy. Larger
individuals show temporal and spatial displacement patterns towards
suitable reproductive conditions (pre-breeding aggregation) and
favourable feeding grounds and smaller size-classes tend to aggregate in
higher numbers in more stable environments.Sustainable
sources for market supply, like aquaculture, are still a long way from
commercial production. So, these results are fundamental to support
effective conservation measures for stock management of H. forskali
AB - Sea cucumbers' historical demand, together with the
depletion of several traditional species in the market, has popularized
new target species from new fishing grounds. Holothuria forskali
is one of those emergent species in the trade market. However, it is a
species for which there is no relevant information to allow sustainable
stock management. Fundamental knowledge of the populations' structure
and habitat preferences are key elements without which any measure is
inconsequent. This work aims to fill that gap by modelling temporal and
spatial patterns of abundance and demographic structure of this species
in a NE-Atlantic area, as a function of environmental features.For
a period of 15 months, nine regular sampling campaigns collected data
on density, individual length, individual conditions of occurrence (e.g.
sheltered, on sand, on algae cover) and environmental parameters (water
column, sediment, substrate cover and type), using random transects
throughout a costal rocky-reef, considering habitat heterogeneity and
substrate types. To determine the species' habitat preferences
Generalized Linear Models were used to model density and demographic
structure of the species as a function of environmental conditions. The
models revealed that the main drivers shaping the distribution of H. forskali
are neither abiotic nor biotic parameters of the water column, but
physical stressors, like current intensity and depth, and substrate type
in a patchy distribution pattern. Estuarine conditions are generally
avoided, although with a size-dependent opportunistic strategy. Larger
individuals show temporal and spatial displacement patterns towards
suitable reproductive conditions (pre-breeding aggregation) and
favourable feeding grounds and smaller size-classes tend to aggregate in
higher numbers in more stable environments.Sustainable
sources for market supply, like aquaculture, are still a long way from
commercial production. So, these results are fundamental to support
effective conservation measures for stock management of H. forskali
KW - Holothuroidea
KW - Density
KW - Size-class
KW - Distribution patterns
KW - Environmental cues
KW - Generalized linear models
KW - Portugal
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102476
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102476
M3 - Article
SN - 1574-9541
VL - 80
JO - Ecological Informatics
JF - Ecological Informatics
M1 - 102476
ER -