Which is more priority, substrate type or food quality? A case study on a tropical coral reef sea cucumber Stichopus chloronotus revealed by prokaryotic biomarker
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Sea cucumbers like Stichopus chloronotus prefer hard-substrate habitats for better feeding selectivity. Their gut microbiome and metabolic pathways adapt to habitat changes within a month.
Area Of Science
- Marine biology
- Echinoderm research
- Microbiome analysis
Background
- Sea cucumber species exhibit diverse habitat and feeding preferences globally.
- Limited research exists on the interplay between sea cucumber food selection, habitat preference, and adaptation.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate the relationship between food selection and habitat preference in Stichopus chloronotus.
- To understand the adaptive adjustments of sea cucumbers to different habitat types.
- To identify biomarkers for adaptation using gut prokaryotic communities.
Main Methods
- Field study using in situ mesocosms with sandy, broken coral, and reef habitats.
- High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze gut prokaryotic community structure.
- Tax4Fun and FAPROTAX for metabolic pathway and biogeochemical cycling process assessment.
Main Results
- Bacterial community structures in reef-habitat sea cucumbers were similar to wild populations.
- Dominant bacterial genera differed between wild and mesocosm-housed sea cucumbers (Ruegeria vs. Synechococcus).
- Metabolic pathways in gut contents varied significantly between treatment and control groups.
Conclusions
- Stichopus chloronotus demonstrates stronger feeding selectivity in wild, hard-substrate habitats.
- Stable substrates are crucial for this species, influencing food preference over sedimentary food availability.
- Sea cucumber adaptation to habitat changes, reflected in gut microbiome, occurs within one month.
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