Distributional records of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa)

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 328 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Guzzi A, Alvaro M C, Cecchetto M, Grillo M, Cometti V, Noli N, Schiaparelli S (2024). Distributional records of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa). Version 1.4. Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.biodiversity.aq/resource?r=mna_echinodermata_holothuroidea&v=1.4

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 1dafb239-593d-43b0-a2a0-bd3e4bde1b23.  Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Keywords

Occurrence; Specimen; ANTARCTICA; ITALIAN NATIONAL ANTARCTIC MUSEUM; ECHINODERMATA; HOLOTHUROIDEA; ROSS SEA; TERRA NOVA BAY; SOUTHERN OCEAN; BIODIVERSITY; OCCURRENCE

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

The geographic extent of the dataset includes a large portion of the Ross Sea and different sampling stations located around the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Taxonomic Coverage

Holothuroidea specimens were identified to lower possible taxonomic resolution.

Temporal Coverage

Project Data

The specimens were collected during 11 different Antarctic expeditions carried out from 1987 to 2017, one funded by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and ten by the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) covering 29 years of research.

Sampling Methods

The dataset provides information on sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) specimens collected from 1987 to 2017 and now part of the permanent biological collection at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) – Genoa section. The 328 samples composing this Database have been collected in a wide range of scientific projects with variety of scientific objectives employing a variety of sapling gears covering a total time interval of 30 years, for this reason the data presented here does not allow to provide a quantitative dataset but rather an occurrence resource for Antarctic holothuroids. Sampling was performed on a total of 89 different sampling stations (Fig. 1) through the deployment of a variety of sampling gears, mainly dredges whose specifications were often not properly described in the expedition’s reports (Charcot dredge, Naturalist dredge and Triangular dredge) and Van Veen grabs of different volumes. Other sampling instruments include two towed horizontal nets, one called “Small Hamburg Plankton Net” (Hydrobios, https://www.hydrobios.de/en/), used during the PNRA XXVIII expedition (2012/2013) and composed by a 1 m2 metallic frame opening and a nylon net of 2 mm of mesh size, and another one called “Multiple Net Mid-Water Tucker Trawl” (Aquatic Research Instruments, http://www.aquaticresearch.com/multi-net_mid_water_trawl.htm) used during the PNRA XXIX expedition (2013/2014) made of three different 900 μm mesh size nylon nets, each one attached to a different metallic frame of 1 m2 opening, which are opened sequentially at different depths. The “Agassiz trawl” employed during the PNRA XIX expedition (2003/2004) was made up of a rigid rectangular steel frame with an opening of about 120 cm in width and 50 cm in height and a bag made of sturdy polyamide yarn net with 8 mm side mesh. A second “Agassiz trawl” with a 3 m2 opening was used during the AWI ANT-XXIX/3 Expedition (2013). Some samples were also opportunistically collected by long fishing lines, mid water trawls (that touched the bottom due to a failure of the winches), trammel nets, and other fishing nets that provided additional material to standard techniques and a Van Veen grab of 65 L volume. During the PNRA XXV expedition (2009/2010) a few samples were hand-collected by SCUBA diving operations conducted by Stefano Schiaparelli at a maximum depth of 26 meters. A few occurrences listed in the data originate from samples acquired using uncommon methodologies for collection benthic sea cucumbers (e.g. gill nets, trammel nets) and some referred as samples obtained as by-catch from failed deployments. Most of the specimens were collected from the Terra Nova Bay area near the "Mario Zucchelli'' station using small boats and zodiacs, while a smaller number was collected from the Ross Sea using the R/V "Italica". The samples belonging to the AWI ANT-XXIX/3 Expedition (2013) were collected by Alvaro Maria Chiara on board the "Polarstern" Research Vessel from the Bransfield Strait and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctic Peninsula). Once the material has been acquired by the MNA after sorting and shipment activities, all the specimens were classified to the lowest possible taxonomic resolution. The present dataset has been formatted in order to fulfill the Darwin Core standard protocol required by the OBIS scheme (http://www.iobis.org/manual/lifewatchqc/) and according to the SCAR-MarBIN Data Toolkit (available at http://www.scarmarbin.be/documents/SM-FATv1.zip). Vouchers are now preserved in 90% ethanol (~56% of the entire collection), frozen (~43.5%), or in formalin (~0.3%).

Method step description:

1. The data set provided in this publication is composed of occurrences originating from different expeditions and projects, the treatment and steps adopted to process each sample may differ depending on the expedition, the project and the personnel involved. However, in most cases, the samples were usually sorted in situ on the basis of morphological characteristics and stored directly in formalin or absolute ethanol, to be subsequently identified by researchers at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) – Genoa section after being acquired in the biological collection. The samples are now stored in absolute ethanol, fixed in formalin or at -20°C.
2. Most of the records have been identified by Stefano Schiaparelli and Alice Guzzi using original descriptions and taxonomic keys. Identification is made in most cases through scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the dermal ossicles of sea cucumbers. For ossicles extraction, small portions of tissue were taken from oral tentacles, body wall and tube feet (when available). Each portion was placed on a separate watch glass and covered with several drops of sodium hypochlorite solution (6-14% active chlorine) (liquid bleach). When the soft tissue was completely dissolved, the ossicles were cleaned with water, air dried, mounted on aluminum stubs, and coated with gold.
3. The identification of many specimens, corresponding to more than 47% of the entire dataset, was aided by the application of DNA barcoding analyses, including the amplification and sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) region, in a collaboration with the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) and uploaded to the Barcode Of Life Data System (BOLD System). The results obtained in this context will be the subject of another publication.

Bibliographic Citations

1. Miller AK, Kerr AM, Paulay G, Reich M, Wilson NG, Carvajal JI, Rouse GW. (2017) Molecular phylogeny of extant Holothuroidea (Echinodermata). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 111: 110–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.02.014
2. WoRMS (2023) Holothuroidea. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=123083 [Accessed on 2023-02-10]
3. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. (2023). SCAR Report 42 - September 2022 - SCAR Data Policy (2022). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7825314

Additional Metadata