Species Abundance of Sea Cucumber in Three Selected Coastal Barangays of San Jose, Dinagat Islands

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Dinagat Island is one of the most well-known provinces of the Philippines due to its wonderful beaches. It is also known for its rich marine resources like sea cucumbers. Aside from agriculture, residents rely on fishing as their main source of income and daily food consumption. The high market value of sea cucumbers contributes to great demand in exporting countries. Moreover, the depletion in sea cucumber supply is due to the expansion of fisheries, in which both density and diversity are affected (Hasan and Abd El-Rady, 2012). This study generally aimed to assess the abundance of sea cucumber.

METHODS

This study was conducted in 3 coastal barangays namely Wilson, Sta. Cruz and Matingbe in San Jose, Dinagat Island. Sampling was done on March 1-3, 2018 at low tide. Three stations with 10x2m transect using a calibrated straw were established on each study sites. Sea cucumber species were identified using the Conand's FAO Species Guide and SPC Beche-de-Mer Identification Card. A slate board with pencil was used in recording field data such as sites, date, time, number of individuals, type of substrates, as well as the physical and chemical parameters. Collections of sea cucumbers were done by hand-picking with the use of protective gloves. All collected sample specimens were counted, recorded and documented in their habitat using an underwater camera.

RESULTS

Twelve species of sea cucumbers underclass Holothuroidea belonging to 2 families, Holothuriidae and Synaptidae were identified. These were Actinopyga echinites, Actinopyga miliaris, ctinopyga sp., Euapta godeffroyi, Holothuria arenicola, Holothuria fuscocinerea, Holothuria hilla, Holothuria impatiens, Holothuria leucospilota, Opheodesoma grisea, Synapta maculata, and Synaptula sp. A total of 145 individuals were observed in 3 study sites in which study site 3 had the highest number of individuals (60), followed by site 2 (46); site 1 had the least number of individuals (39). H. leucospilota showed to be the most abundant species (46.89%) and the highest mean density (0.13 ind/m2) and A. echinites, A. miliaris, and Actinopyga sp. were the least (0.69%) with a mean density of 0.002 ind/m2.

DISCUSSIONS

H. leucospilota showed to be the most abundant species compared to other species in the 3 study sites. This might be due to their preferred habitat which they tended to occur on coral debris patches. This species was reported to be traded with other low-value species in the dried form due to its less meat compared to other species (FAO, 2012).