8.
There is a tendency in reef areas for life roles of inhabitants to be very diverse,
with available resources being finely divided up (i.e., partitioned) by reef
inhabitants. This is called niche diversity. To what extent do studies of sea-
cucumbers support the idea of niche diversity?
FIELD SHEET
Sea-cucumber habitats
Reef:
Date(s):
Observers:
For each species make a tally
in the spaces below as you go.
Species
Reef flat
Reef
crest
Exposed on
sands areas
Under
boulders
or coral
Exposed
on
rubble
Other
Under
boulders
Exposed
on
pavement
Exposed
on rubble Other
A
8
C
D
E
F
G
H
Calculations:
Reading
liakus, Gerald. 1973. The biology and ecology of tropical holothurians. In
Biology
and
geology of
coral reefs,
ed. 0.
A.
Jones and R. Endean. vol. 2. New York:
Academic Press.
56
