THE DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF STICHOPODIDAE (ECHINODERMATA: HOLOTHUROIDEA) IN THE VICINITY OF MALAYSIAN WATERS by WOO SAU PINN Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science SEPTEMBER 2013 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere and heartfelt gratitude as well as appreciation goes to Professor Dr. Zulfigar Yasin. Thank you for your inspirations that brought me to a wonderful journey of adventure, exploration and discovery to the ocean and its wonders. None could be achieved without your perseverance and your dedication in training and teaching towards developing fine young researchers. A special note of thank you goes to Associate Professor Dr. Aileen Tan Shau Hwai for her tireless and continuous care, advice and support throughout this study. Your diligence, attentiveness to details and critical comments are very much appreciated. I am indebted to all the members of the Marine Science Lab: Pn. Noraini and En. Bala, for their help and support; Semah, Chiew Peng, Hanis, Wala, Balkhis, Nana, Nithiyaa, Ivan, Reza and Amelia for your much assistance in the field and lab. Thank you all also for the wonderful experience, cheerfulness and warmth brought to the family of Marine Science Lab. I would also like to acknowledge the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) for the financial support through the PASCA scholarship offered to me. Lastly to my beloved family, I really appreciate all the patience, moral support and full confidence you have put on me in my selfish pursue of my dreams. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii ABSTRAK xii ABSTRACT xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Classification of Holothuroidea 1 1.2 Morphology and anatomy of sea cucumbers 1.2.1 The general morphology of sea cucumber 5 1.2.2 The general anatomy of sea cucumber 7 1.3 The life cycle of sea cucumbers 13 1.4 Ecological, economical and medical importance 1.4.1 The Ecological Importance and Roles of Sea Cucumber in the Ecology 14 1.4.2 Sea cucumber fisheries and trade in Malaysia 16 1.4.3 The Medical Properties and Potentials of Sea Cucumber 18 1.5 Research on the Taxonomy and Distribution of Stichopodids in 19 Malaysia 1.6 Objectives of the Study 20 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 The study areas 21 2.2 Sample collection and preservation 21 2.3 Species identification 2.3.1 Identification to genus level using exterior morphology 25 2.3.2 Identification to species level using spicules 29 2.4 Ecological Descriptions 34 2.5 Species diversity indices (SDI) iii 2.5.1 Shahnon-Wiener Diversity Index 34 2.5.2 Evenness index 36 2.5.3 Dominance Index 36 2.6 The association of diversity and distribution of Stichopodids between 37 sampling locations CHAPTER 3: RESULTS 3.1 Species identification 3.1.1 Genus Stichopus 31 3.1.2 Genus Thelenota 90 3.2 Distribution of Stichopodiidae 3.2.1 Straits of Malacca 106 3.2.2 South China Sea 107 3.2.3 Sulu Sea 109 3.2.4 Sulawesi Sea 109 3.3 Ecological preferences of Stichopodiidae 3.3.1 Substrate and habitat preference 113 3.3.2 Depth preference 114 3.3.3 Nocturnal species 115 3.5 Species diversity indices 3.5.1 Shahnon-Wiener diversity Index 116 3.5.2 Evenness index 117 3.5.3 Dominance index 117 3.6 The association of diversity and distribution of Stichopodids 119 between sampling locations CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION 4.1 Species Identification 4.1.1 Genus Stichopus 4.1.1.1 Stichopus chloronotus Brandt, 1835 122 4.1.1.2 Stichopus vastus Sluiter, 1887 123 iv 4.1.1.3 Stichopus hermanni Semper, 1868 125 4.1.1.4 Stichopus ocellatus Massin, Zulfigar, Hwai, Boss, 2000 127 4.1.1.5 Stichopus rubermaculosus Massin, Zulfigar, Hwai, Boss, 2000 128 4.1.1.6 Stichopus horrens Selenka, 1867 130 4.1.1.7 Stichopus sp. 131 4.1.2 Genus Thelenota 4.1.2.1 Thelenota anax Clark,1921 133 4.1.2.2 Thelenota ananas (Jaeger, 1833) 135 4.2 The Diversity of Stichopodidae in Malaysia 138 4.3 Association of Diversity and Distribution of Stichopodids between Sampling Locations 145 4.4 Ecological Preferences of Stichopodids 4.4.1 Substrate and Habitat Preference 148 4.4.2 Depth Preference 150 4.5 The distribution of Stichopodidae in the Indo-West Pacific 153 4.5.1 Stichopus chloronotus Brandt, 1835 154 4.5.2 Stichopus vastus Sluiter, 1887 154 4.5.3 Stichopus hermanni Semper, 1868 155 4.5.4 Stichopus ocellatus Massin, Zulfigar, Hwai, Boss, 2002 156 4.5.5 Stichopus rubermaculosus Massin, Zulfigar, Hwai, Boss, 2002 156 4.5.6 Stichopus horrens Selenka, 1867 and Stichopus sp. 157 4.5.7 Thelenota anax Clark, 1921 157 4.5.8 Thelenota ananas (Jaeger,1833) 158 4.5.9 Effects of Oceanic Currents and Salinity Barriers to the Distribution of Stichopodids across Indo-Pacific Region 159 v CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 165 5.1 Recommendations for further studies 167 REFERENCES 168 LIST OF PUBLICATION 193 vi LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1.1 Descriptions of sea cucumber classified into three subclasses 4 and six orders. 1.2 Descriptions of sea cucumber classified into three subclasses 4 and six orders 2.1 Coordinates and types of zone of each sampling locations 24 3.1 List and abundance of sea cucumber from the family 108 Stichopodidae found in the Malaysian waters. 3.2 List of Stichopodids according to the categories of diurnal 115 or nocturnal species found in Malaysian waters in this study. 3.3 Shahnon-Wiener index, H’, Eveness Index, J’ and Dominance 118 Index, D of each sampling location. 4.1 List of depth ranges of where stichopodids were found. 151 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Classification of the family Stichopodidae with the two genus Stichopus and Thelenota which was found in Indo-West Pacific. 3 1.2 The different structures of tentacle in sea cucumber. 7 1.3 A general anatomy of a sea cucumber revealed by dissection. 8 1.4 Extension of the water-vascular ring forming radial canal that 9 give rise to tube feet. 1.5 The anatomy of the posterior of Holothuria forskali in the 11 attachment of the Cuvierian tubules. 1.6 A diagram to show the general life cycle of a sea cucumber. 14 2.1 Sampling locations in the Straits of Malacca, South Chinas Sea, 23 Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea. 2.2 Different cross sections and forms of the body of sea cucumbers. 26 2.3 Different categories of relative length found in sea cucumbers. 27 2.4 The basic structures of the tentacles. 28 2.5 Anchor, anchor plate and button spicules. 30 2.6 Fenestrated ellipsoid, end plate and miliary granule spicules. 31 2.7 Rosette, table and wheel spicules. 32 2.8 Flow chart for slide preparation of spicules extracted from samples. 33 3.1 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus chloronotus. 38 3.2 Spicules of Stichopus chloronotus from the dorsal body. 40 3.3 Spicules of Stichopus chloronotus from the papillae. 41 3.4 Spicules of Stichopus chloronotus from the ventral tube feet. 43 viii 3.5 Reduced table spicules of Stichopus chloronotus from the ventral 44 tube feet. 3.6 Spicules of Stichopus chloronotus from the tentacle. 44 3.7 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus vastus. 46 3.8 Spicules of Stichopus vastus from the dorsal body wall. 47 3.9 Spicules of Stichopus vastus from the papillae. 48 3.10 Spicules of Stichopus vastus from the tube feet. 50 3.11 Spicules of Stichopus vastus from the tentacles. 51 3.12 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus herrmanni. 53 3.13 Spicules of Stichopus herrmanni from the dorsal body. 54 3.14 Spicules of Stichopus herrmanni from the papillae. 55 3.15 Spicules of Stichopus herrmanni from the ventral tube feet. 57 3.16 Rod spicules of Stichopus herrmanni from the tentacles. 58 3.17 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus ocellatus. 59 3.18 Spicules of Stichopus ocellatus from the dorsal body wall. 61 3.19 Spicules of Stichopus ocellatus from papillae. 63 3.20 Spicules of Stichopus ocellatus from tube feet. 64 3.21 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus rubermaculosus. 66 3.22 The spicule of Stichopus rubermaculosus from the dorsal body. 68 3.23 The spicules of Stichopus rubermaculosus from the papillae. 69 3.24 The spicule of Stichopus rubermaculosus from the tube feet. 71 3.25 The spicule of Stichopus rubermaculosus from the tube feet. 72 3.26 The spicule of Stichopus rubermaculosus from the tentacles . 73 3.27 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus horrens. 75 3.28 The spicule of Stichopus horrens from the dorsal body. 77 3.29 The spicule of Stichopus horrens from the dorsal papillae. 78 3.30 The spicule of Stichopus horrens from the ventral tube feet. 79 ix 3.31 Rod spicules from the tentacles of Stichopus horrens. 80 3.32 The dorsal and ventral views of Stichopus sp. 82 3.33 The spicule of Stichopus sp. from the dorsal body. 83 3.34 The spicule of Stichopus sp. from the dorsal papillae. 85 3.35 The spicule of Stichopus sp. from the dorsal papillae. 86 3.36 The spicule of Stichopus sp. from the tube feet. 87 3.37 The spicule of Stichopus sp. in the tentacles. 89 3.38 The dorsal and ventral views of Thelenota anax. 91 3.39 Spicules of Thelenota anax from the dorsal body wall.