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 <i>Holothuria scabra</i> collected in TINMAR, Southern Guimaras (Panay Gulf, northern Sulu Sea) and Sagay Marine Reserve, Negros Occidental (Visayan Sea), were determined. Epibiotic organisms on 10 <i>Holothuria scabra</i> 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 <i>Holothuria scabra</i> were almost the same in both sites, except for annelids which was only encountered in samples from Sagay. Mean epibiotic abundance of <i>Holothuria scabra</i> 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.