Mar 19, 2025
Gump Reef Sea Cucumbers: Feasibility Test Protocol
- Seth Caleb Chow1,
- Emily J Farley1,
- Aaron Mark1,
- Jasmine Sizer1,
- Samantha Torres1,
- Liam Quinn1,
- Thomas Quinnild1
- 1UC Berkeley
Protocol Citation: Seth Caleb Chow, Emily J Farley, Aaron Mark, Jasmine Sizer, Samantha Torres, Liam Quinn, Thomas Quinnild 2025. Gump Reef Sea Cucumbers: Feasibility Test Protocol. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.rm7vz6mjrgx1/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 18, 2025
Last Modified: March 19, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 124602
Keywords: sea cucumber, excrement, feasibility study, H. atra, S. Horrens, H. impatiens, P. kefersteinii, C. rigida
Abstract
The primary objective of this project is to conduct a feasibility study collecting target sea cucumber species (rori) and their feces. More specifically, this test seeks to understand the time at which individual target sea cucumbers defecate and the relative locations of various species (ie. Holothuria atra, Stichopus horrens, Holothuria impatiens, Polyplectana kefersteinii, and Cystipus rigida) along the shallow reef of the Gump Research Station. The aforementioned target species can be visualized on this google sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZTFU71BxU5_nTs_s0LA0n4k0lT4U7oEnTVj44BedjRY/edit?usp=sharing
The study aims to determine the feasibility of rori excrement collection as a tool to engage with local elementary school children to promote environmental education. In addition, the sampling of rori excrement is expected to provide key information about the microbiome of the animal. The microbiome of sea cucumbers is expected to provide data on the composition of the community to further understand the health of the lagoon.
Image Attribution
Taken by Seth Chow, 2025
Guidelines
Practice safe swimming and wear appropriate sun protection to avoid harsh UV ratings. When snorkeling at night, ensure that your dive light works and there is a third party on land in any case of emergency.
Materials
- Snorkel and Mask
- Rash Guard
- Sun Protection
- 4 Liter Plastic Container
- GPS Tracking Device
- Underwater Camera
- Gloves (optional)
- Diving Flash Light
- Timer (records to milliseconds)
Safety warnings
Take normal ocean safety precautions. Always dive/snorkel in pairs. Practice sun protection; sunscreen, rash guard, etc. Also, exercise caution when around coral to avoid coral cuts. Use a dive light at night. Make sure a 3rd party on land is aware of when you went in the water and when you plan on returning.
Ethics statement
Practice respect for the marine environment and for Marine Protected Areas and permit policies.
Make sure that all proper species collection permits have been processed.
Before start
Ensure that you have all necessary materials and have reviewed and prepared for possible hazards.
Sample Collection
Sample Collection
Swim in waist-deep water, and search the sea floor for sea cucumbers resting on the sand. Be careful to not kick up any sediment as you search for the specimen. Upon finding a sea cucumber, determine if the observed specimen is a target species.
Next, use the Gaia GPS app and plot a point relative to the observed sea cucumber's location (target species or not) to record its geographic position and take a picture of the sea cucumber. If the observed species is not a target species, do not collect and keep searching.
If the specimen is a targeted species, gently pick up the sea cucumber and place it carefully in the container while still underwater.
Immediately start a timer.
Bring the sea cucumber (inside the container) above the water. Ensure the container remains at least 3/4 full of water and the sea cucumber is submerged (with as little sediment as possible).
When the sea cucumber begins defecating, stop and record the time to the nearest millisecond.
Only 1 target sea cucumber should be recorded in the container at a time. Once finished, return the specimen to the exact place where it was found.
Repeat this process until 5 specimen of each target species have been identified and recorded.
Protocol references
(World Register for Marine Species , WoRMS, 2025)