Tag Archives: sea cucumber

Pseudocnus curatus: Black brooding sea cucumber–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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by Ryan Murphy, April, 2010 See Ryan’s underwater set on Flickr with a range of invertebrates:

In the early 1980’s while doing subtidal surveys, we discovered a major concentration of the small subtidal sea cucumber Pseudocnus curatus ( formerly Cucumaria pseudocnus) living in high density off the West side of Great Race Rocks. On April16, 2004, six divers, Ramiro, Mael, Mike, Carmen, Aven and Chris were able to do a preliminary survey of the area and have produced the results shown here.
To do the survey, they ran out a reel tape measure from shore to 75 meters in a bearing of 255 degrees magnetic from peg number 7- a permanent reference peg on the very South West corner of the Island. This took them into water that is 8 to 10 meters in depth.
We are uncertain as to why this organism concentrate here in these numbers, and this also happens at other locations such as Beecher bay 3 km to the West. This is the only area we find them in at Race Rocks.
Also included in this file are the raw data values from the divers. One may clip and paste these into an EXCEL program in order to do alternate analysis.

This species is distinguished from Cucumaria pseudocurata which lives up in the mussel beds by having 10 tentacles instead of 8. It is s found in great abundance on the surface of boulders at a depth of 10 meters 60 meters offshore of the south west tip of Great Race Rock ( peg7) Counts of up to 1000 per square meter have been estimated. It can also be found intertidally among the mussel beds on the Western side of the main island.

The following count done by students of the diving activity gives an idea of how dense this species is in one location at Race Rocks. Recently Ryan Murphy found another population of this density on the Eastside  of Great Race Rock.
The book Sea Cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, and Puget Sound by Phil Lambert is the best source for identification of most of the 45 species of local sea cucumbers. In it he notes that the habitat of Pseudocnus curatus “in the Juan de Fuca Strait tends to be shallow subtidal in areas where the tidal currents are strong….. They nestle together in large aggregations on open rocky surfaces …..and….. are eaten by many species of sea stars……although their body wall is toxic to some fish predators providing a strong defense mechanism.”
See also Taxing Problems by Philip Lambert – Now Curator Emeritus of Invertebrates, Royal BC Museum for a description of the difficulty in classification and the need to classify by the skin ossicles.
Google Pseudocnus curatus for a link to the page describing this species..

Pseudocnus curatus Is similar to another species, Cucumaria pseudocurata which is found more shallow in the intertidal zone at Race Rocks. Both species average 1.5 to 3cm in length. C. pseudocurata has 5 bands of tube feet in single or zig zag rows. As a rule there are 8 equal sized tentacles. P.curatus on the other hand has 10 equal sized tentacles. and tube feet scattered on the Dorsal side. At Race Rocks, it lives in the subtidal zone at 8 to 10 meters in depth.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Sub-Phylum Eleutherozoa
Class Holothuroidea
Subclass Dendrochirotacea
Order Dendrochirotida
Family Cucumariidae
Genus Pseudocnus
Species curatus, (Lambert,1997?)
Common Name: Black brooding sea cucumber

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION at RACE ROCKS

In the early 1980’s while doing subtidal surveys, we discovered a major concentration of the small subtidal sea cucumber Pseudocnus curatus ( formerly Cucumaria pseudocnus) living in high density off the West side of Great Race Rocks. On April16, 2004, six divers, Ramiro, Mael, Mike, Carmen, Aven and Chris were able to do a preliminary survey of the area and have produced the results shown here.
To do the survey, they ran out a reel tape measure from shore to 75 meters in a bearing of 255 degrees magnetic from peg number 7- a permanent reference peg on the very South West corner of the Island. This took them into water that is 8 to 10 meters in depth.
We are uncertain as to why this organism concentrate here in these numbers, and this also happens at other locations such as Beecher bay 3 km to the West. This is the only area we find them in at Race Rocks.
Also included in this file are the raw data values from the divers. One may clip and paste these into an EXCEL program in order to do alternate analysis.

Raw Data from 0.125 meter quadrats Ramiro and Mike and Av Carmen and Chris
meters from the shore 40
41
42 0
43
44
45
46 0
47 1
48 7
49 20
50 8
51
52 9
53
54 3
55
56
57 2
58 14
59
60
61
62 20
63
64 20
65 1
66 16 1
67 8
68 25
69 2
70 19 13
71 29
72 19
73 31
74 0

 

Other Members of the Phylum Echinodermata at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Garry Fletcher

Escape Response of California Sea Cucumber

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Parastichopus californicus escapes predation by the sunflower seastar Pycnopodia helianthoides. By releasing itself on the approach of the seastar the Parastichopus can be carried away by the current.  Also shown are the escape responses of sea urchins and topshells.

California Sea cucumber reproduction

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This California Sea Cucumber male was emitting sperm while in the tank at Race Rocks in early June, 2004 . This went on for several hours. Millions of sperm are broadcast into the water where they may have a chance encounter with eggs, also released into the current by the females. Of the great numbers of eggs and sperm released only a few are fertilized and actually make it to maturity. This is a good example of
r-selection in the population.

Cucumaria pseudocurata: Tar-spot Sea Cucumber

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DescriptionCucumaria pseudocurata is a small species with a length averaging between 1.5cm and 3cm. Their dorsal side ranges from brownish black to light brown to yellowish gray, while the ventral side varies from brown to white. Five bands of tube feet can be found in single or zig-zag rows, with the three ventral rows being more robust. C. pseudocurata has 8 equal-sized tentacles, and 2 smaller ventral ones. The tips of the tentacles generally have the darkest pigment. Between two of the dorsal tentacles can be found the genital papilla. The skin ossicles of this particular species are typically oval perforated plates.

This small cucumber can be found intertidally among the Mytillus Californianus (mussel beds) on the Western side of the main island.
See also the Black Brooding Sea cucumber, one of similar size but a darker color and a subtidal habitat.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Holothuroidea
Order Dendrochirotida
Family Cucumariidae
Sub FamilyCucumariinae
Genus Cucumaria
Species pseudocurata
Common Name: Tar-Spot Sea Cucumber 

The book Sea Cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, and Puget Sound by Phil Lambert is the best source for identification of most of the 45 species of local sea cucumbers. In it he notes that the habitat of Cucumaria pseudocurata in the Juan de Fuca Strait tends to be ” This page has a copy of the reference to this species and others:

See also Taxing Problems by Philip Lambert – Now Curator Emeritus of Invertebrates, Royal BC Museum for a description of the difficulty in classification and the need to classify by the skin ossicles.

Other Members of the Phylum Echinodermata at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Erin Schwenger (PC yr 29))

Albinism in The California Sea Cucumber

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The Sea Cucumber Parastichopus californicus is normally a reddish-orange to brown color, although there is also a beige color phase with dark brown spots.( leucistic).  In the past year, 2 of these white variants have shown up near Race Rocks

Eupentacta quinquesemita:white sea cucumber–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Here are the tentacles extended on a cluster of Eupentaca.Their bodies are hidden. Photo by Dr.A. Svoboda

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Eupentacta quinquesemita is stiff to touch due to abundant calcareous ossicles in the skin and tube feet. The body grows 4-8 cm in length. The non-retractile tube feet give it a spiky look. It has five rows of tube feet (four tube feet in width) with smooth skin between. The two ventral feeding tentacles are smaller than the other eight. This character is useful for identifying this species when only the tentacles are visible. The expanded tentacles are creamy white with tinges of yellow or pink at the bases.

Skin ossicles: numerous large, porous, ovoid bodies dominate the ossicles but among them are small, delicate baskets. The latter are important in differentiating this species from Eupentacta pseudoquinquesemita.

HABITAT

They are fairly common under the rocks and in cervices, low intertidal zone on rocky shores; common on concrete piles and marina floats in Monterey harbor, Vancouver (British Columbia) to Morro Bay (San Luis Obispo. Co). High densities of this species occur in strong currents. Juveniles (up to 1 cm) settle among hydroids and small algae in high current areas and on floating docks.

REPRODUCTION

Eupentacta quinquesemita is a suspension feeder. It spawns from late March to mid May. The female produces eggs greenish in color, 370 to 416 um diameter: the male releases sperm, and fertilization takes place in open water. The yolky egg develops into a non-feeding evenly ciliated larva. In culture, the larva grows to the armoured stage in 11 to 16.5 days.

 

PREDATORS

The predators of Eupentacta quinquesemita are: the Sun Star (Solaster stimpsoni), the Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), the Six-armed Star (Leptasterias hexactis) and the Kelp Greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus).

BIOTIC ASOCIATION

The internal parasite, Thyonicola americana, a shell-less wormlike snail, attaches elongated coils of eggs to the intestine of E. quinquesemita. The larvae are released into the intestine and probably scape through the anus. Any parasites that are ejected by evisceration perish.

FEEDING

Is by shovelling of sediment into the mouth and digesting the microfauna within. No direct feeding is required. Is omnivore.

DomainEukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Holothuroidea
SubclassDendrochirotacea
Order Dendrochirotida
Family Sclerodactylidae
Genus Eupentacta
Species quinquesemita
Common name White sea cucumber

REFERENCES

Lambert, P. 1997. Sea Cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska and Puget Sound. UBC Press, British Columbia Canada. 166 pages

Morris, R., P. Abbott, and E. Haderlie.1980. Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Standford University Press, Stanford, California. 690 pages.

Kozloff, E. 1996 . Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast. Fourth Edition. University Of Washington Press. Seattle and London. 370 pages.

 

Other Members of the Phylum Echinodermata at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 Patricia  (PC year28)

Cucumaria miniata: Orange sea cucumber–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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The orange Cucumaria miniata sea cucumber is a common resident just off the docks at Race Rocks in 5 to 10 meters of water. In this video they occur in a high concentration relative to other areas. Each orange tuft is the tentacle mass. If disturbed, it quickly withdraws into the sea cucumber body which is always buried under loose rocks.

Note the name Cucumaria miniata should be on the following video instead of C. curata

General Description:The Orange sea cucumber received its Latin name, Cucumaria because it resembles a cucumber. The orange pigment that separates it from other sea cucumbers comes from a chemical called cinnabar or vermilion. Although it seems to be completely soft and fragile, it actually has bone-like plates in the body wall called ossicles. To stay attached to the holes between the rocks, the cucumber uses tube feet that you can see in the image above in 5 rows around the circumference of the body. If you ever want to keep one as a pet, don’t get too attached because they usually only live about 5 years, sometimes 10 if they’re lucky.

Habitat:

Sea cucumbers live in between boulders and sheltered rock formations. Because they are able to stay attached to surfaces, they prefer to live in areas with stronger currents, making it harder for predators to reach them.

Feeding:

The orange sea cucumber is a suspension feeder. This means that it catches food in its tentacles. After the food is caught, it removes the food with its eating arms and scrapes it into its mouth. Sea cucumbers eat plankton and detritus.

Reproduction:

Unfortunately, sea cucumbers aren’t very intimate creatures. In fact, their mating process can’t have any less contact. When the time comes to make a new cucumber and two cucumbers are physically (and emotionally) ready, one will release eggs into the water and the other will release sperm. From that, the two elements meet in suspension and that’s it.

Predators and Defenses:

The cucumbers main predators include fish, and even humans. That’s right kids, there are some people in the world that actually eat these things. To protect itself, the cucumber has many defenses. Their skin is some of the most amazing tissue found on an animal. The compound is made of a material called ‘catch collagen’ which can change from liquid to solid when neurologically triggered. It does this so can squeeze into small spaces and then harden again. Another defense is they “pee” out all the water in their system and shrink into a small, hard rock. The “peeing” usually occurs when the cucumber is removed from its habitat. If that’s not enough for you, they also can bust out a defense called evisceration. What happens here is if the cucumber is stressed and scared enough, it will spew its guts out. That means everything, intestines, gonads, respiratory organs, everything. Now after that, you would think that’s the end but if it can get itself to a safe habitat, it can actually regenerate its organs.

Biotic Associations

These guys are generally really passive, and they don’t really interact with any other organism or with between each other really.
References:http://oz.plymouth.edu/~lts/invertebrates/Primer/text/holothuroidea.html

http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/hodiak/photo/cuke03.html

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Holothuroidea
Family Cucumariidae
Genus Cucumaria
Species miniata

Common Name: Orange Sea Cucumber

 

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 March OctoberFebruary , 2002, Andres Jennings (PC yr 28)

Psolus chitonoides: creeping pedal sea cucumber

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Predation of a Psolus chitinoides by a sea star is examined and discussed by Laura and Nadege. The stomach of the sea star surrounds the sea cucumber and the soft neck and mouth of Psolus is well inside the cavity of the sea

 

Sea cucumbers have inhabited the world’ s oceans for about 400 million years. Psolus chitonoides is an unusual species of these marine invertebrates. Its diverse characteristics have given it 4 common names: Armoured sea cucumber, Creeping armoured sea cucumber, Slipper sea cucumber and Creeping pedal sea cucumber.

Compare the tentaclesof Psolus with the end of the California Sea Cucumber to the left. Photo by Dr.A.Svoboda

Tentacles of P.chitinoides

A-Description

As all echinoderms, the creeping pedal cucumber has a spiny skin. Also, its appearance is closer to a chiton than to a sea cucumber (here is the origin of its name “chitonoides“).

1-External features:an oval body (7cm long to 5.8 cm wide) domed dorsally with stiff, shingle-like scales, flat, flexible sole ventrally. Its tentacles(8-10) are dendritic, equal in size, or 8 large and 2 small. Also observing the body, it could be compared to an elongate cylinder lying on its side with the mouth at one end and the anus at the other. The rows of tube feet run the length of the body

2-Internal features: the tentacle ampullae, the rete mirable and cuverian organs are absent . On the other hand, we can observe the presence of retractor muscles. Respiratory trees are “y shaped”. Note that its madreporic body is attached to a dorsal mesentery. Its internal calcareous skeleton is composed as following:calcareous ring with anterior processes only. Psolus chitonoides is characterized by typical skin ossicles, where one type of circular perforated plate (some with knobs coalesced into a raised network) occur only in the ventral sole.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Holothuroidea
SubclassAspidochirotacea
Order Dendrochirotida
Family Psolidae
Genus Psolus
Species chitonoides
Common Name: Creeping pedal sea cucumber
B-Physiology and Biology

1-Suspension feeder: tentacles trap larger particles (larger than 2mm) by bending inwards to form a cagelike enclosure. The mouth lips extend toward the particle as the nearest tentacle pushes it into the mouth .

2-Reproduction : the reproductive organs of a sea cucumber generally consist of 1 or 2 tufts of elongated tubules in the forepart of the body cavity.Spawning occurs annually, from mid March ot late May, commonly in the early morning. A spawning male will swab its genital papilla with its tentacles, then lift the tentacles to disperse the sperm . Females release long ropes of brick red eggs; fertilized eggs develop into pelagic lecithotrophic vitellaria larvae. Late larvae and early juveniles are negatively phototatic and settle gregariously.

3- Respiratory system: its water vascular system is a hydraulic system made up of tubes and valves that operate rows of extendible tube feet . As other sea cucumbers, Slipper sea cucumbers respire through their tube feet, body wall and respiratory trees.

4-Chemicals: there are toxic chemicals (saponins) on its tentacles, discouraging predators from nipping the tentacles. For example, even the Kelp Greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus), which feeds on sea cucumbers, avoids this species.

C-Predators, parasites and commensals

1-Sea stars and fish are the main predators of the Psolus chitonoides.

2-Parasitic forms of flatworms and snails can live inside the sea cucumber

3-Commensal organisms are mostly scales that mimic the colour of sea cucumbers, and crawl on their skin.

D-Habitat

From exposed coast to sheltered inlets; although it seems to prefer clean, vertical rock that is free of sediment. Its soft, flat sole enables it to attach firmly to rock.

E-Range

Aleutian Islands to Baja California ; intertidal to 247m ; common in shallow subtidal areas.

References:

Kozloff, E.N. Keys to the Marine Invertebrates of Puget Sound , the San Juan Archipelago, and Adjacent Regions.

Lambert, P. 1997. Sea cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, and Puget Sound. UBC Press,

Other Members of the Phylum Echinodermata at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

 March October 2003-  Rahilla (PC)

Parastichopus californicus The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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 Video of Albinism and Leucism in Sea Cucumbers

 

 

 

 

Video of escape response when attacked by Pycnopodia sp.

 

 

 

 

Video of a male sea cucumber releasing sperm

 

 

 

Emily finds a partially albino (pinto?) Parastichopus while diving near Church Island… just up the Strait from Race Rocks. 

 

 

DESCRIPTION:

The California Sea Cucumber grows up to 50cm long. They are the largest cucumbers in B.C. waters. They range in colours from red in juveniles to brown or mottled brown, with all white individuals occurring rarely. They are covered on the dorsal side with flesh coloured papillae, and on the ventral side by tube feet. A circle of peltate feeding tentacles surround a subterminal mouth, directed ventrally at the anterior end. Oxygenated water is forcibly pumped into the sea cucumber’s respiratory trees in several successive inhalations, and then deoxygenated water is forcefully expelled. Eye-witness accounts have noted small fish being expelled with this force of water, perhaps living in symbiosis with the California sea cucumber.

RANGE:

Gulf of Alaska to Cedros Island, West of Lower California. Intertidal to 249m. Common on mud, gravel, shell, rock rubble or solid bedrock, from exposed coast to sheltered inlets. Greatest densities occur in quieter waters where organic sediments settle on hard surfaces. Harvesting of Sea Cucumber is also done by divers, throughout their range.

FEEDING, BEHAVIOR, AND BREEDING:

Sea cucumbers feed as they move along the bottom, traveling up to a maximum of 3.9m a day. They gain nutrition from organic material in sediment, mostly form bacteria and fungi. California Sea Cucumbers cease feeding and become dormant from September to early March. Once they reach maturity at four years of age, they will migrate to shallow water to spawn from late April to August, although this timing varies with location. Fertilization takes place in open water. Free swimming larva feed on plankton for 35-52 days before settling to the bottom. Parastichopus californicus has few natural predators. Sunflower starts sometimes eat them, and the sea cucumber reacts strongly by rearing back and flexing violently to avoid being eaten. They are harvested commercially in B.C., Washington, and Alaska for meat, and limits have been set for the amount that may be caught. When disturbed, as other sea cucumbers, it will contract and squirt a powerful stream of water from its posterior end. Five pairs of muscle bands which run the length of the body help this organism in contracting and escape from sea stars. Perhaps one of the most interesting features is this organisms ability to regenerate new organs for winter after expelling them during its dormant phase. It seems there is controversy as to whether sea urchins expel or reabsorb their organs. Recent evidence cited by Philip Lambert of the RBC museum in Victoria(1997) indicates that the sea cucumbers reabsorb their organs.

FURTHER INFORMATION NEEDED:

-further study at Race Rocks of commensal fish living in respiratory tree

-behaviour studies

-colouration, how long it takes to occur in full pigmentation, as a white individual found near Race Rocks has recently begun to change tan colour–later development?

-mechanism of absorbing/ejecting and regenerating organs

WEBSITE LINKS TO SEA CUCUMBERS:

Sea cucumber fishery – Pacific Region
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/shellfish/Sea_Cucumber/biology_cucumber.htm

A paper by Phil Lambert on Sea Cucumber Taxonomy
http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/nh_papers//taxing.html

REFERENCES CITED:

Carefoot, Thomas (1977), Pacific Seashores : A Guide to Intertidal Ecology
Lambert, Philip (1997), Sea Cucumbers of B.C., Southeast Alaska and Puget Sound
Morris, Abbott, Haderlie (1990), Intertidal Invertebrates of California
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.  – Sarah Trefry Dec 2001 (PC)

Other Members of the Phylum Echinodermata at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File