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Long-term home ranging in the large sea cucumber, Holothuria fuscopunctata
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Long-term home ranging in the large sea cucumber, Holothuria fuscopunctata

Steven W. Purcell, Sophie L. Rallings and Alison R. Hammond
Coral reefs, Vol.42, pp.1059-1066
16/08/2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02413-4
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Abstract

Sea cucumber Movement Behaviour Echinoderm Photographic identification Marine invertebrate Fisheries management Conservation and biodiversity Fisheries - wild caught not elsewhere classified Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems
Long-term movements of adult marine animals predicate spatial management measures. Sea cucumbers are intensely exploited worldwide, yet few studies have assessed their long-term movement potential. Elephant trunkfish, Holothuria (Microthele) fuscopunctata, is a large coral reef holothuroid. At four sites at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, we photographically marked and georeferenced 36 H. fuscopunctata, ranging 1.4-5.1 kg in weight. In broader searches one year later, we recaptured 92% of the animals. Their displacements were comparable among sites and averaged 8.7 m yr(-1). None of the movements could be characterised as nomadic; the maximum displacement was 21 m. Contrary to expectations, smaller animals tended to roam further than larger animals (p = 0.025). Our study shows that certain large-bodied sea cucumbers might not displace far over annual timescales. This empirical evidence of home ranging reshapes our understanding of echinoderm mobility and reveals a behaviour that would exacerbate Allee effects at low population densities.

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