A First inventory of the echinoderms from Juan de Nova (Iles Eparses, France) in the Mozambique Channel, South Western Indian Ocean.

International audienceJuan de Nova is one of the scattered islands known as Iles Eparses in the Mozambique Channel (Western Indian Ocean). Historically, they have been isolated from many anthropogenic influences which makes them ideal areas to study biodiversity for comparison with areas that are heavily impacted by urbanization and fishing. The programme BioReCie (Biodiversity, Resources and Conservation of Eparses Islands) undertook inventories of several marine groups, including echinoderms, which had hitherto not been assessed in Juan de Nova. A multidisciplinary team surveyed the reef slopes of the island using SCUBA to a depth of 25 m as well as the reef flats at low tide, collecting specimens and taking photos for identification. Sixty echinoderm species were found, with 51 occurring on the reef flats and in the lagoon and 22 on the reef slopes, comprising 21 species of Holothuroidea, 16 Ophiuroidea, 10 Echinoidea, 7 Asteroidea, and 6 Crinoidea. Commercial species of Holothuroidea, some of which are classified as endangered in the IUCN red list, i.e. Thelenota ananas and Holothuria nobilis, were present on the reef flats, reef slopes and in the lagoon of the island, indicating the value that protection has on biodiversity