Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems.
Eelgrass ecosystems have a wide variety of ecological functions in which living tissues and detritus may be a food source for many marine animals. In this study, we conducted a laboratory simulating experiment to understand the trophic relationship between the eelgrass Zostera marina L and the sea c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3591415?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811320209717329920 |
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| author | Xujia Liu Yi Zhou Hongsheng Yang Shaoguo Ru |
| author_facet | Xujia Liu Yi Zhou Hongsheng Yang Shaoguo Ru |
| author_sort | Xujia Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Eelgrass ecosystems have a wide variety of ecological functions in which living tissues and detritus may be a food source for many marine animals. In this study, we conducted a laboratory simulating experiment to understand the trophic relationship between the eelgrass Zostera marina L and the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. A mixture of decaying eelgrass debris and seafloor surface muddy sediments was used as food to feed A. japonicus, and then specific growth rates (SGR) and fecal production rates (FPR) were measured. According to the proportion of eelgrass debris, we designed five treatment diets, i.e., ES0, ES10, ES20, ES40, and ES100, with eelgrass debris accounting for 0%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 100% in dry weight, respectively. Results showed that diet composition had a great influence on the growth of A. japonicus. Sea cucumbers could use decaying eelgrass debris as their food source; and when the organic content of a mixture of eelgrass debris and sediment was 19.6% (ES40), a relatively high SGR (1.54%·d(-1)) and FPR (1.31 g·ind.(-1) d(-1)) of A. japonicus were obtained. It is suggested that eelgrass beds can not only provide habitat for the sea cucumber A. japonicus but can also provide an indirect food source for the deposit feeder. This means that the restoration and reconstruction of eelgrass beds, especially in coastal waters of China, would be a potential and effective measure for sea-cucumber fisheries, in respect to both resource restoration and aquaculture of this valuable species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:56:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1207f11ce904830b1926c5f9cb14e48 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:56:01Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1207f11ce904830b1926c5f9cb14e482022-12-22T02:46:04ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0183e5829310.1371/journal.pone.0058293Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems.Xujia LiuYi ZhouHongsheng YangShaoguo RuEelgrass ecosystems have a wide variety of ecological functions in which living tissues and detritus may be a food source for many marine animals. In this study, we conducted a laboratory simulating experiment to understand the trophic relationship between the eelgrass Zostera marina L and the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. A mixture of decaying eelgrass debris and seafloor surface muddy sediments was used as food to feed A. japonicus, and then specific growth rates (SGR) and fecal production rates (FPR) were measured. According to the proportion of eelgrass debris, we designed five treatment diets, i.e., ES0, ES10, ES20, ES40, and ES100, with eelgrass debris accounting for 0%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 100% in dry weight, respectively. Results showed that diet composition had a great influence on the growth of A. japonicus. Sea cucumbers could use decaying eelgrass debris as their food source; and when the organic content of a mixture of eelgrass debris and sediment was 19.6% (ES40), a relatively high SGR (1.54%·d(-1)) and FPR (1.31 g·ind.(-1) d(-1)) of A. japonicus were obtained. It is suggested that eelgrass beds can not only provide habitat for the sea cucumber A. japonicus but can also provide an indirect food source for the deposit feeder. This means that the restoration and reconstruction of eelgrass beds, especially in coastal waters of China, would be a potential and effective measure for sea-cucumber fisheries, in respect to both resource restoration and aquaculture of this valuable species.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3591415?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Xujia Liu Yi Zhou Hongsheng Yang Shaoguo Ru Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. PLoS ONE |
| title | Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. |
| title_full | Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. |
| title_fullStr | Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. |
| title_short | Eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus Selenka (Echinidermata: Holothuroidea) in coastal waters of North China: an experimental study in flow-through systems. |
| title_sort | eelgrass detritus as a food source for the sea cucumber apostichopus japonicus selenka echinidermata holothuroidea in coastal waters of north china an experimental study in flow through systems |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3591415?pdf=render |
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