Status of Sea Urchin Resources in the East Coast of Borneo

Abstract

Sea urchins are marine benthos that live in different habitats available at shallow and deep waters. In Malaysia, Sabah is the only state that exploits sea urchins without knowing the status of natural stocks. This study identified the sea urchin species diversity at shallow subtidal zones in east coast of Borneo which is part of the Coral Triangle. Belt transects were deployed to quantify the species composition and qualitative observations on the habitat types were also noted. Simultaneously, documentation of species available in several wet markets was gathered through impromptu conversation with the sellers. In this study, a total of 10 species of sea urchin were recorded from 18 sampling sites, namely, Phyllacanthus imperialis, Diadema setosum, D. savignyi, Echinothrix calamaris, Mespilia globulus, Salmacis sphaeroides, Echinometra mathaei, Pseudoboletia maculata, Toxopneustes pileolus, and Tripneustes gratilla. The most dominant one that showed a wide distribution was D. setosum. Three species are new records for Malaysia. Among the study sites, Semporna district showed the highest species number. Our findings illustrate that shallow waters on the eastern part of Borneo support high diversity of sea urchin resources. Future study should explore the sea urchin diversity at deeper waters and also on the west coast of Sabah.

Review: Biology of the commercially used sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla (Linnaeus, 1758) (Echinoidea: Echinodermata)

“…According to Rahim and Nurhasan (2016) seagrass and seaweed are the main diets for most sea urchin, and T. gratilla is the most well-known seagrass grazer (Lyimo et al 2011). Information on feeding preference is important to study the effect of sea urchin to sea grass beds, which could also contribute important information to sustain management of sea grass ecosystems (Eklöf et al 2008).…”

Proximate and Mineral Composition of the Long Spined Sea Urchin (Diadema setosum) Roe

“…In Malaysia, previous studies have highlighted the abundance and distribution of sea urchin inhabit Malaysian waters [16], [17], [18], [19]. Twelve tropical species that have been documented in Malaysia waters, such as Diadema setosum, D. savignyi, Echinometra mathaei, Astropyga radiata, Toxopneustes pileolus, Echinothrix calamaris, Echinothrix diadema, Parasalenia gratiosa, Salmacis sphaeroides, Pseudoboletia maculata, Tripneustes gratilla and Salmaciella dussumieri [19], [20]. The most abundance sea urchin available in Peninsular Malaysia is D. setosum.…”

Aktivitas Antiinflamasi Ekstrak Etanol Echinometra mathaei pada Tikus Putih Jantan dengan Induksi Karaginan

“…Bulu babi atau dikenal dengan nama lokal landak laut, tayum, tehe-tehe adalah salah satu jenis benthos (filum Echinodermata, kelas Echinoidea) yang memiliki bentuk bulat dan ditutupi dengan duri panjang bergerak (Rahim, et al, 2016). Bulu babi berperan sebagai indikator dalam pengendalian pertumbuhan vegetasi di laut, karena makanan utama bulu babi adalah rumput laut dan mikroalga bentik (Pinna et al, 2012).…”