DIVERSITY, LENGTH-WEIGHT CORRELATION AND HEAVY METALS UPTAKE IN SEA CUCUMBER COLLECTED FROM BULEJI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Sea cucumber is one of the marine resources which takes crucial importance for the ecology and the economy. Buleji was selected to observe the qualitative and quantitative seasonal variations of sea cucumbers throughout the year, 2023 using a linear transect quadrate. Length- weight correlation and diversity were calculated using ecological methods. Some physico-chemical parameters were also analyzed. The data suggests that the water quality parameters are influenced by seasonal changes, particularly the monsoon. The monsoon season brings about dilution effects, leading to lower salinity, conductivity, and TDS levels, while also increasing dissolved oxygen. The pH levels remain relatively stable, indicating a consistent alkaline nature of the water across the seasons. During study a total five species viz., Holothuria pardalis, Holothuria arenicola, Holothuria atra, Ohshimella ehrenbergi and Holothuria verrucosa belonging to 03 orders and 02 families were recorded from study site. The maximum diversity (1.32±0.26) and equitability (0.97 ± 0.23) was recorded in monsoon whereas the minimum diversity with higher dominance (0.68±0.01) was recorded in post-monsoon season. The graph of correlation analysis presents a strong positive linear relationship between the length and weight of all holothurians species where the weight increases proportionally with the length, and the linear model is a good fit for the data. The heavy metal results disclosed that the iron and manganese were found higher peaks with seasonal fluctuations. The goal of this study is to further our understanding of the seasonal diversity, correlation and heavy metal accumulation of sea cucumbers in marine environment.