Estimation of age and growth and mortality parameters of the sea cucumber Isostichopus fuscus (Ludwig, 1875) and implications for the management of its fishery in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

Assessing the benefits of the marine protected area of Punta Coles, southern Peru (south‐east Pacific) on productivity of conspicuous benthic species using pre‐image population analysis

“…values to be monitored, as was recently described for the Peruvian-Chilean anchovy and sardine species (Ortiz, 2020). In this sense, the current contribution is consistent with several studies by MPAs (Davidson et al, 2002;Kellner et al, 2010;White et al, 2013;Coleman, Palner-Brodie & Kelaher, 2013;McGilliard et al, 2017;Buglass et al, 2018;Medrano et al, 2020;Dwyer et al, 2020;Ramírez-González et al, 2020;Salayo et al, 2020).…”

“…Despite this, the current work could be considered as a baseline study in the marine reserve of Punta Coles, because future annual magnitudes of biomass and/or density of commercial and conspicuous species could be incorporated into the model, permitting the trajectory (changes) of the equilibrium ( x *) and productivity ( r ) values to be monitored, as was recently described for the Peruvian–Chilean anchovy and sardine species (Ortiz, 2020). In this sense, the current contribution is consistent with several studies executed in other protected areas around the globe, which have quantified the change different populations parameters of local species (populations) as a way of evaluating the protection provided by MPAs (Davidson et al, 2002; Kellner et al, 2010; White et al, 2013; Coleman, Palner‐Brodie & Kelaher, 2013; McGilliard et al, 2017; Buglass et al, 2018; Medrano et al, 2020; Dwyer et al, 2020; Ramírez‐González et al, 2020; Salayo et al, 2020).…”

“…The efficacy of protection of marine reserves typically has been evaluated through the estimation of changes in abundance (biomass) of populations, recruit–adult and prey–predator relationships, individual spatial behaviour, and community assemblages (Russ et al, 2004; Coleman, Palner‐Brodie & Kelaher, 2013; McGilliard et al, 2017; Paul, Kar & Ghorai, 2018; Rees et al, 2018; Merkohasanaj et al, 2019; Rojas‐Nazar et al, 2019; Kiggins et al, 2020; Medrano et al, 2020; Mello et al, 2020; Ramírez‐González et al, 2020; Salayo et al, 2020; Villegas‐Ríos et al, 2021). In this regard, the present contribution is the first attempt to quantify the efficacy of the creation of Reserva Nacional de Islas, Islotes y Puntas Guaneras on the most conspicuous, commercial and related benthic species inhabiting the coastal area of Punta Coles , using pre‐image population analysis (PPA) developed by Levins (2000) and Levins, Awerbuch & Park (2013) and extended by Ortiz (2018).…”

Biology, ecology and management perspectives of overexploited deposit-feeders sea cucumbers, with focus on Holothuria tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788)

“…The unregulated exploitation of sea cucumbers is a rising concern for their conservation, with 16 species worldwide now classified as "vulnerable" or "endangered", according to the IUCN Red list (Conand et al, 2014, Ramírez-González et al, 2020. Concern also raises because most of the harvested sea cucumbers are depositfeeders, thus playing an ecological key role due to their feeding behaviour (Uthicke, 2001;Roberts et al, 2000), their decline could have severe consequences on sedimentary biogeochemistry and benthic ecosystem functioning.…”

New insights upon the reproductive biology of the sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) in the Mediterranean: Implications for management and domestication

“…Then again, the current lack of information about the sea cucumbers population dynamics depends also upon their peculiar body morphology. Indeed, the lack of a rigid skeleton and the high plasticity of the body wall, that can vary in response to environmental conditions (Bulteel et al, 1992;Kinch et al, 2008;Zang et al, 2012;Prescott et al, 2015;Tolon et al, 2017;Ramıŕez-Gonzaĺez et al, 2020b), limit practically the possibility to estimate appropriately their age/size relationship and growth rates. Moreover, such peculiarity led to different approaches when measuring these organisms with authors reporting the gutted weight, the drained weight or wet weight to build the morphometric relationships producing different reference data (Kazanidis et al, 2010;Aydin, 2020).…”