Epibiota of <i>Holothuria scabra</i> (Jaeger, 1833) from TINMAR, Southern Guimaras and Sagay Marine Reserve, Negros Occidental

Abstract

The composition and abundance of epibiota on the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra collected in TINMAR, Southern Guimaras (Panay Gulf, northern Sulu Sea) and Sagay Marine Reserve, Negros Occidental (Visayan Sea), were determined. Epibiotic organisms on 10 Holothuria scabra individuals in each site were detached from the body surface with a fine brush dipped in alcohol. Samples collected were fixed in buffered formalin, followed by counting and identification under light microscopy. Sea cucumber epibionts consisted of photosynthetic protists, mainly diatoms (Phylum/Division Bacillariophyta), and small marine invertebrates (Protozoa, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Annelida). Some 2,237 epibionts were counted with the diatoms as the most abundant and frequently encountered group. Epibiont species on Holothuria scabra were almost the same in both sites, except for annelids which was only encountered in samples from Sagay. Mean epibiotic abundance of Holothuria scabra from TINMAR was 61 per individual which was about a third of epibiotic abundance on individuals from Sagay (163 per individual). This study provides preliminary information on epibionts present on Philippine holothurians, and will help future researches in this field.