Sea Beans Proposed as Solution to Marine Mucilage Problem

Sea Cucumber Solution to Mucilage Problem TEKNOFEST Aviation, Space and Technology Festival students from İzmir Atatürk High School Gökçe Şengülen and Bensu Çatalçam, who placed second in Turkey in the Tubitak Climate Change Competition, used sea cucumbers in their developed project to reduce organic matter accumulating on the sea floor, which causes eutrophication and mucilage when it accumulates excessively. İzmir Atatürk High School students Gökçe Şengülen and Bensu Çatalçam, who placed second in Turkey in the Tubitak Climate Change Competition at the TEKNOFEST Aviation, Space and Technology Festival held in Samsun with their developed project, became a source of pride for İzmir. [caption id="attachment_144663" align="aligncenter"] İZMİR ATATÜRK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GÖKÇE ŞENGÜLEN AND BENSU ÇATALÇAM WHO PLACED SECOND IN TURKEY WITH THEIR DEVELOPED PROJECT[/caption] Students competing in the biology category earned recognition with their project titled "The Effect of Benthic Invertebrate Sea Cucumbers in Reducing Organic Matter Accumulated on the Sea Floor." The project's objective was stated as "proving the effect of sea cucumbers in reducing organic matter by producing a solution to this naturally occurring problem using nature itself, in order to reduce organic matter that accumulates on the sea floor and causes numerous problems such as eutrophication and mucilage when it accumulates excessively." The sea cucumber, an invertebrate living in the sea, is consumed as food especially in the Far East and has high protein content. In the project in question, it was found that sea cucumbers, when fed in aquariums, consume whatever amount of organic matter is present in the environment. Through this, it was determined that sea cucumbers play an effective role in cleaning up mucilage and organic matter accumulated on the sea floor. It was noted that sea cucumbers consume sediment and detritus found on the sea floor with the help of tentacles surrounding their mouth, and that organic matter is contained within this sediment and detritus. Sea cucumbers perform their feeding operations with the help of these tentacles, numbering between 8 and 30, found surrounding their mouth, while simultaneously reducing the amount of organic matter in the sea. The experiments were conducted in the laboratories of Ege University Faculty of Aquaculture located in Urla district.