Browsing by Author "Domínguez-Godino, Jorge A."
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- A new species for sea cucumber ranching and aquaculture: breeding and rearing of Holothuria arguinensisPublication . Domínguez-Godino, Jorge A.; Slater, Matthew J.; Hannon, Colin; González-Wangüemert, MercedesMulti-species sea cucumber fisheries, including the speciesHolothuria arguinensis, have developed recently in the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. In this context, the current study evaluated the potential use of H. arguinensis in aquaculture and to enhance natural populations, describing the embryonic and larval development for a better understanding and application in marine conservation and population genetics. Wild broodstock collected in Ria Formosa (37°0′33.92″N, 7°59′44.99″W; Faro, South Portugal) was induced to spawn using established methodology of thermal stimulation from June to August. The larval development under controlled conditions exhibited the classic five stages described for most aspidochirote holothurians, reaching the juvenile stage after 18 days post-spawning. Low mortality was registered during the pelagic larval stage, however high mortality (85–95%) was registered at doliolaria and juvenile stages. Results indicate that H. arguinensis is suited to hatchery rearing for aquaculture and enhancement of natural populations. Nevertheless, as this is the first European sea cucumber species reproduced in a hatchery, further research is required to improve the survival of post-settlement stages and optimize the rearing of juveniles.
- Setting preliminary biometric baselines for new target sea cucumbers species of the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean fisheriesPublication . González-Wangüemert, Mercedes; Valente, Sara; Henriques, Filipe; Domínguez-Godino, Jorge A.; Serrao, EsterCommercial interest on sea cucumber species from the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean is increasing.Holothuria polii, Holothuria tubulosa, Holothuria mammata and Holothuria arguinensis are the new targetspecies. The scarce biological and ecological knowledge on these species along their geographical distri-bution, is a major problem for their fisheries management. To address it, we carried out a morphometricstudy to describe the baseline population size structure, focused on the length–weight relationship andsize–weight distribution.In the NE Atlantic, the largest mean size and heaviest mean weight of H. mammata and H. arguinensiswere found in localities with upwelling, but another factors could be influencing on these results. In theMediterranean, Girona and Mallorca showed the heaviest specimens of H. polii, H. tubulosa and H. mam-mata, and the smallest were registered in Crete and Kusadasi. Significant differences in length and weightbetween populations were found for each species. These results could be linked with local environmentalconditions. Size frequency distribution was multimodal for all species except for H. mammata; the weightfrequency distribution was only unimodal for H. polii and H. mammata.This study provides novel data, helpful for stock and population assessment which could support theimplementation of effective management for the European sea cucumber target species.