The reproduction cycle of the sea cucumber Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa Gmelin, 1791 (Echinodermata Holo-thuroidea Holothuriidae) in Oran coast, Algeria

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an analytical study of gonad index (GI) and repletion index (RI) of Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa Gmelin, 1791 (Echinodermata Holothuroidea Holothuriidae). The study is based on biomonitoring data collected from February 2014 to January 2015 in the Oran coast. The gonad index of Holothuria tubulosa is analyzed to show the reproductive cycle and its relationship to environmental parameter conditions. Samples of 15 to 20 individuals were collected monthly at three stations on the Oran coast (La Madrague, Cap Carbon, and Ain Franin). The sex ratio of all sampling was found as (female: male) 0.8:1.2 with no significant difference between sites (X 2 = 2.18 ; df=4 ; p>0.05) and is also not significant regarding the seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) (X2= 3.03 ; df=6 ; p>0.05). Sea cucumber reproduction occurred in September at Cap Carbon and Ain Franin with values of Gonad index (GI) that are 0.33± 0.52 % and 0.22± 0.52 % respectively. At the La Madrague site, the spawning occurred in October with a value of GI of 1.49±2.03 %. It was observed that seawater temperature has a positive correlation with Gonad index (GI) and no correlation with Repletion index (RI).

New insights upon the reproductive biology of the sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) in the Mediterranean: Implications for management and domestication

“…Monthly changes in GSI and the frequency distribution of the maturity stages clearly depict the restricted reproductive season, which is concentrated, in the Sardinian population, at the end of the summer season. Our result is in good agreement with those reported earlier for the same species by Despalatovićet al (2004) in the Adriatic Sea, Kazanidis et al (2014) in the Aegean Sea, Dereli et al (2016) in the Dardanelles Strait, and Tahri et al (2019) in Oran coast (Algeria).…”

“…Considering its growing economic interest, appropriate biological information is required. Currently, fragmentary data are available about the population structure and reproductive cycle in the Eastern (Bulteel et al, 1992;Despalatovićet al, 2004;Dereli et al, 2016;Ocaña and Sanchez Tocino, 2005) and the Western (Tahri et al, 2019) Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, no information is reported about the spawning period of H. tubulosa in the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea.…”

Biology, ecology and management perspectives of overexploited deposit-feeders sea cucumbers, with focus on Holothuria tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788)

“…The reproductive cycle of H. tubulosa was studied in specimens from the Adriatic Sea, Oran coast (Algeria) and Dardanelles Strait (Turkey). The development stages of male and female gonads showed a clear annual pattern and all authors agreed that the spawning period was set between June and October with minor local differences, and a resting period from October to January (Despalatovic et al, 2004;Ocaña and Tocino, 2005;Dereli et al, 2015;Tahri et al, 2019). Rakaj et al (2018) successfully bred and reared H. tubulosa in the laboratory, completing the larval development in 27 days, which, however, was followed by high mortality shortly after the settlement.…”

Larval development of Holothuria tubulosa, a new tractable system for evo-devo

“…The Mediterranean H. tubulosa has an annual reproduction cycle with the breeding season between June and September (Despalatovićet al, 2004;Dereli et al, 2016;Tahri et al, 2019;Pasquini et al, 2022). Natural spawning events have been reported in the literature (Valls, 2004;Ocana et al, 2005) and reproduced in laboratory conditions through a combination of thermal stimulation and thermal shock (Rakaj et al, 2018;Leónet et al, 2019).…”