Mo'orea Reef Sea Cucumbers Feasibility Test

The primary objective of this project is to conduct a feasibility study collecting target sea cucumber species (rori) and their feces. More specifically, this test seeks to understand the time at which individual target sea cucumbers defecate and the relative locations of various species (ie. Holothuria atra, Stichopus horrens, Holothuria impatiens, Polyplectana kefersteinii, and Cystipus rigida) along the shallow reef of the Gump Research Station. The aforementioned target species can be visualized on this google sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1csWoI3eEwTALetQQUKKOYgwiHcgxFG8_gScjwC8vBL8/edit?usp=sharing

The study aims to determine the feasibility of rori excrement collection as a tool to engage with local elementary school children to promote environmental education. In addition, the sampling of rori excrement is expected to provide key information about the microbiome of the animal. The microbiome of sea cucumbers is expected to provide data on the composition of the community to further understand the health of the lagoon.