Abstract
It has long been recognized that bioturbation and deposit-feeding activity by tropical holothuroids in the orders Holothuriida and Synallactida (Aspidochirotida s.l.) are among their primary ecological roles on coral reefs. The turnover of vast quantities of sediment through their feeding activities influences sedimentary properties including grain size, microalgal productivity, nutrient cycling, oxygen profiles, and biogeochemistry, with benefits to ecosystem functioning. Bioturbation and feeding processes, as well as site selectivity, resource partitioning, and thus species' distributions, vary among taxa, as do their potential contributions to sediment dissolution and biogenic buffering in a changing ocean. However, whether tropical holothuroids have an appreciable impact on their sedimentary biomes at regional scales remains a critical knowledge gap. This may be associated with the lack of data available on sea cucumbers before their widespread overharvest in the tropics. Thus, the ecological consequences of the exhaustive removal of holothuroids from coral reefs are discussed here in the context of their functional roles in tropical sedimentary biomes.
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