Preliminary study on the selectivity, behavioral and physiological response of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus to different habitats

Under indoor simulated environmental conditions, the selection of Apostichopus japonicus to Zostera marina, bare sand and stones habitats was studied. The average aggregation rate, behavioral characteristics (crawling, feeding and excretion behavior) and physiological status (ATP content in muscle of A. japonicus; dopamine, adrenergic, norepinephrine and cortisol contents in coelomic fluid of A. japonicus) in different habitats were compared and analyzed. The results showed that: 1) A. japonicus preferred the Z. marina habitat significantly higher than bare sand habitat and stones habitat. The average aggregation rate of A. japonicus in the Z. marina habitat reached 64%, which was 4.5 times higher than that in bare sand habitat. 2) The activity of sea cucumbers in Z. marina habitat was significantly higher than those in stones and bare sand habitats, and the frequencies of crawling and feeding were 2 times higher than those in stones habitat. In Z. marina habitat, the feces length and thickness of A. japonicus was 1.9 and 2.5 times higher than those in bare sand habitat. 3) In Z. marina habitat, the content of ATP in muscle was 2 times higher than that in stones habitat and bare sand habitat. The results showed that A. japonicus had obvious selection to the habitat of Z. marina, which are active in the habitat of Z. marina and in good physiological status, indicating that the Z. marina bed is a high-quality habitat for the construction of green ecological pasture for A. japonicus. The original data of the experiment are as follows:1 Changes of mean attractive rate of A. japonicus in Z. marina-bare sand group (A), stones- bare sandgroup (B) and Z. marina-stones group (C). The data are the average aggregation rate of sea cucumbers per hour in each habitat. Each of these acts is in a different habitat for each processing group, and column labels show the timing of the statistics. The unit of data is %.2 Effects of different habitats on the mean attractive rate of A. japonicus. The data are the mean attractive rate of sea cucumbers in various habitats. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The unit of data is %.3 Crawling frequency of sea cucumber in Z. marina, stones and bare sand. The data are the frequency of crawling behavior of sea cucumbers in various habitats. The abscissa label isthe experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The unit of data is / min.4 Tentacles activity frequency sea cucumber in Z. marina, stones and bare sand. The data were the tentacles activity frequency in different habitats. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. Data unit is / min.5 Feces length of sea cucumber in Z. marina, stones and bare sand. The data were the length of feces in different habitats. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit is cm.6 Feces thickness of sea cucumber in Z. marina, stones and bare sand. The data were the thickness of feces in different habitats. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit is mm.7 Effects of different habitats on ATP content in A. japonicus muscle. The data were ATP content in the muscle of sea cucumber in each habitat. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit is μmol / gprot.8 Effects of different habitats on dopamine content in sea cucumber. The data were the content of dopamine in the body cavity of A. japonicus in each habitat. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit was pg / ml.9 Effects of different habitats on cortisol content of A. japonicus. The data were the content of cortisol in the coelomic fluid of sea cucumber in each habitat. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit was pg / ml.10 Effects of different habitats on noradrenaline content in sea cucumber. The data were the contents of noradrenaline in the coelomic fluid of sea cucumbers in different habitats. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit was pg / ml.11 Effects of different habitats on epinephrine content in sea cucumber. The data were the epinephrine content in the body cavity of A. japonicus in each habitat. The abscissa label is the experimental habitat, and the ordinate is the experimental repetition. The data unit was pg / ml.