Environmental Factors for Holothuria scabra Sea Cucumber Cultivation

Abstract

Sea cucumber cultivation is an alternative to anticipate the continuity of production due to overfishing. Maintenance environmental factors are important factors to consider in sea cucumber cultivation. A suitable location really supports the success of sea cucumber cultivation. This study aims to identify the main habitat and indicators in determining a suitable location for cultivation of Holothuria scabra. The study was located in the intertidal zone of the Watuar village seagrass ecosystem during May 2020 to October 2020. The results showed that the location of the Watuar village seagrass beds was suitable to be developed as a sea cucumber cultivation location with three main indicators, namely 35 cm depth (at low tide) and 195 cm (at the highest tide), the condition of the seagrass vegetation is moderate and is the natural habitat of H. scabra with the dominance of the seagrass Enhalus acoroides, Cymodocea rotundata, Cymodocea serrulata, Thalassia hemprecchii with moderate density and the bottom substrate is muddy sand with particle size 100 µm of 96.7%.

Species Composition, Relative Abundance and Distribution of Sea Cucumber in the Intertidal Zone of Cab-ilan Island, Dinagat, Dinagat Islands, Philippines

“…In Cab-ilan islands, the abundance of H. scabra in Station 2 can be attributed to their ability to occupy a diverse range of substrate preferences, including silt substrate, sand, muddy areas, coral fractures, and even the nearby mangrove ecosystem, which is predominantly characterized by a silty substrate (Manuputty et al, 2019), which were also observed in the area. Furthermore, the low abundance of competitors and predators such as crab species and gastropods (Rahantoknam et al, 2021) and their reproductive ability to exhibit binary ssion (Vito, 2019) could also explain the abundance of H. scabra in Station 2. However, its absence in Station 1 could be due to the absence of muddy substrates where H. scabra are commonly found and abundant in seagrass beds with muddy substrates (Conand et al, 2013).…”