Habitat preference of sea cucumbers: Holothuria atra and Holothuria edulis in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka

Despite their economic importance, the ecology of many sea cucumber species is poorly understood and factors influencing their habitat preferences remain largely unexplained. The distribution and habitat preference of two sea cucumber species; Holothuria atra and Holothuria edulis were studied off t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012-05, Vol.92 (3), p.581-590
Main Authors: Dissanayake, D.C.T., Stefansson, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Bottom sediments
Coastal waters
Coasts
Echinodermata
Economic importance
Fisheries
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Global positioning systems
GPS
Gravel
Habitat preferences
Habitats
Holothuria atra
Holothuria edulis
Holothurioidea
Invertebrates
Marine
Sea water ecosystems
Sediments
Shallow water
Silt
Synecology
Variables
Vegetables
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Summary:Despite their economic importance, the ecology of many sea cucumber species is poorly understood and factors influencing their habitat preferences remain largely unexplained. The distribution and habitat preference of two sea cucumber species; Holothuria atra and Holothuria edulis were studied off the north-west coast of Sri Lanka by underwater visual census in October 2008. The relationships between the density of each species and the habitat variables, such as mean grain size, organic content (% of dry weight), gravel (%), silt–mud (%), and depth, were examined using a generalized additive model. All these variables except silt–mud have significant influence (P 
ISSN:0025-3154
1469-7769
DOI:10.1017/S0025315411000051