Cucumaria Frondosa for Management of The
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ASSESSMENT OF THE BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY AND GENETIC STRUCTURE OF THE SEA CUCUMBER CUCUMARIA FRONDOSA FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE FISHERY IN THE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR REGION By © Justin J. So A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Ocean Sciences Centre and Department of Biology, Memorial University, St. John's (Newfoundland and Labrador) Canada 25 August 2009 ABSTRACT The biological traits of the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa relevant from both ecological and resource management perspectives were investigated; including distribution, growth and predation on juveniles and adults, and population genetics. Natural densities were mainly dependent on substrate type and location. Spawning occurred from March to May in response to increasing phytoplankton abundance and larvae settled in ca. 5 weeks. Growth of juveniles and adults was slow (indicating ca. 25 years to reach market size) with seasonal patterns correlated with food supply. Juveniles of S. endeca fed upon post-metamorphic sea cucumbers, whereas adult feeding rates were modulated by temperature and biased towards small and injured sea cucumbers, suggesting that trawling may exacerbate predation pressure. Population genetic parameters are consistent with persistence in refugia through the last glacial maximum and local genetic patchiness is likely due to variations in recruitment. A precautionary management approach is advisable to ensure the sustainability of the fishery. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people I need to thank for my M.Sc. This project was truly a collaboration in every sense of the word and I would not have been able to do this without the help of all the people involved from government, industry and academia. I am grateful to my supervisor Annie Mercier and to Jean-Franc;ois Hamel for their thoughts, support and guidance. Their curiosity and enthusiasm will always have a lasting impact on me and I was lucky to have such great people to work with. Thanks to Sven Uthicke at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS), who with great patience half a world away, guided me through population genetics. I also appreciated the comments and input of my committee members, Ian Fleming and Don Deibel and my examiners Bruce MacDonald and Dawn Marshall. From the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA), Lew Barrett provided me with unwavering support and insight into the fishery. His drive and passion to see a sustainable, economically viable sea cucumber fishery were a constant inspiration for this project. Thanks to Don Stansbury and Elaine Hynick from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) who provided me with invaluable data on the fishery. Information and data on the habitat utilization study provided by Paul Winger and Chris Keats (Marine Institute) was much appreciated. This project could not have succeeded without help from people all across the North Atlantic. The following personnel from DFO, DF A and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) assisted me greatly in sample collection in Canadian waters; Tim Siferd, Martin Curtis, Guy Parsons, Shawn Melindy, Pat Mackey, Tyson Russell Joe Ill Drew, Vonda Wareham, Rabindra Singh, Bill Dennis, Darrell O'Brien, Sherrylynn Rowe, Bill MacEachern, and Juliette Francis. The following processors and local harvesters aided me in sample collection in Canada; Reginald Russell, Wayne Russell, Ed Russell, Baxter Hedderson, Wayne Minor, Danny Loveless, Chester Davis, Brian Sullivan, Stanley Lahey, Jules LeBlanc, Bruce Stewart, L. Arragutainaq, Bert Lambert, Todd Saunders, Derrick Kearly, Harvey Richardson, Elmina Richardson, Roger Foulem, Joey Angnatok, Martin Guay, Boyd Oram, Hollis Fowler and in Iceland; Kari Olafsson. The following colleagues and researchers helped with collections in Canada; Philip Sargent, Bob O'Donnell, Renee Boland, Will Coffey, in the United States; Scott Feindel, James Berke, in Norway; Christoffer Schander, Halldis Ringvold, Trond J0rgensen, and in Russia; Elena Gudimova, Peter Zolotarev. Special thanks to my colleague Zhao Sun for her help and advice over the last two years and to all the students in the Mercier lab; Gina Doyle, Chris Negrijn, Nikita Laite and Meghan Goobie who put up with me and helped me with my sampling and data collection. Sincere thanks as well to Matt Rise and Jules Dore for use of their laboratories and equipment. The following people also graciously assisted me in some way or another throughout my M.Sc.: Lana Combdon, Daryl Jones, Connie Short, Pascal Kriwy, Scott Grant, Nicholas Duprey and the staff and collegues of the Ocean Sciences Centre (OSC) and Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS). Finally, thanks to my family and friends for their support throughout my graduate studies. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................. ..................... .................... .................. ........................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .............................................................. xi LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. xiii CO-AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Sea cucumber fisheries ............................................................................... 1-2 1.2 Overview of the biology of Cucumaria frondosa ....................................... 1-3 1.3 Emerging Cucumariafrondosa fishery ...................................................... 1-8 1.4 Background information for the present study ......................................... 1-10 1.5 Objectives of research ...... ............... .......................................................... 1-13 1.6 References ................................................................................................. 1-15 1. 7 Figures ................................................................................................... ... 1-25 CHAPTER 2: ABUNDANCE, GROWTH AND PREDATION PRESSURE IN JUVENILES AND ADULTS OF CUCUMARIA FRONDOSA (ECHINODERMATA: HOLOTHUROIDEA): KEY FACTORS IN FISHERY MANAGEMENT .................... 2-1 2.1 Abstract ........................... ......... .. .... ......... ........... ..... .................................... 2-2 2.2 Introduction ................................................................................................. 2-3 2.3 Materials and Methods ............................................................................... 2-9 2.4 Results ........................................................................................ ............... 2-19 2.5 Discussion ............................................................ .......................... .. ......... 2-28 2.6 Acknowledgements .......................... ........................ ................................. 2-47 2.7 References ................................................................ ....................... ..... .. ... 2-49 2.8 Tables ........................................ .................................... ............................ 2-65 2.9 Figures ....... .. .................. ........................................................ .. ................. 2-70 CHAPTER 3: TRANS-ATLANTIC GLACIAL PERSISTENCE: RECONCILING PATTERNS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AND LIFE HISTORY TRAITS IN CUCUMARIA FRONDOSA (ECHINODERMATA: HOLOTHUROIDEA) .................. 3-1 v 3.1 Abstract. ...................................................................................................... 3-2 3.2 Introduction ................................................................................................. 3-3 3.3 Materials and Methods ...... ......................................... ................................ 3-7 3.4 Results ....................................................................................................... 3-12 3.5 Discussion ....................... .......................................................................... 3-14 3.6 Acknowledgements ............................................................... ........... ......... 3-24 3.7 References ........................................................................................ ......... 3-26 3.8 Tables ........................................................................................................ 3-39 3.9 Figures ............................. .......................... .......................... ............. ........ 3-44 CHAPTER 4: SUMMARY ....................................................................... ....................... 4-1 4.1 Biology and ecology of Cucumariafrondosa ............................................ 4-2 4.2 Implications for the fishery ......................................................................... 4-6 4.3 Future research ...........................................................................................