The Specialist Marine Herbivore Elysia papillosa Grows Faster on a Less Utilized Algal Diet

2021 ◽  
pp. 000-000
Author(s):  
Kourtney Barber ◽  
Michael Middlebrooks ◽  
Susan Bell ◽  
Sidney Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Microbiome ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélique Gobet ◽  
Laëtitia Mest ◽  
Morgan Perennou ◽  
Simon M Dittami ◽  
Claire Caralp ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Cynthia D. Trowbridge

The stenophagous ascoglossan (=sacoglossan) opisthobranch Elysia viridis has long been a model organism for the study of endosymbiosis or kleptoplasty as well as one of the few herbivores to consume the introduced green macroalga Codium fragile on European shores. Larval and post-larval dynamics of the ascoglossan were investigated. Planktotrophic larvae of E. viridis grew at 5–10 μm d−1 (shell length) at 15°C on a unicellular algal diet (the cryptophyte Rhodomonas baltica); larvae became competent one month post-hatching. Effective feeding and chloroplast acquisition typically started within 2–3 d of metamorphosis. Slugs grew about 8 mm in the first month of post-larval life. During this period, juveniles held in the light did not grow faster or survive better than conspecifics held in the dark; thus, functional kleptoplasty did not occur during first three weeks of benthic life. While larval growth rates and the nature of metamorphic cues are consistent with those of many other opisthobranch species with planktotrophic larvae, measures of post-larval growth—particularly as it pertains to kleptoplasty—is a new contribution to opisthobranch biology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 531
Author(s):  
B. A. Yiu ◽  
D. J. Booth ◽  
A. M. Fowler ◽  
D. A. Feary

Herbivorous fishes comprise a substantial proportion of temperate fish communities, although there is little understanding of their trophic resource use and whether this changes throughout post-settlement ontogeny. With increasing loss of macroalgal forests, understanding how temperate fishes use macroalgae will be vital in predicting future effects on temperate fish biodiversity. The Australian rock cale (Aplodactylus lophodon) is one of the most abundant herbivorous fish inhabiting shallow temperate south-eastern Australian reefs. We examined gastrointestinal contents throughout ontogeny and demonstrated that this species maintains a herbivorous diet through all life stages. Differences in algal taxa consumed were apparent through ontogeny, with the juvenile diet dominated by filamentous red and green algae and the adult diet dominated by brown and calcareous red algae. Relative gut length increased through ontogeny, potentially facilitating dietary transition to less digestible algae, but no concurrent increase in jaw power was observed. The results highlight the diversity of trophic resource use in a temperate marine herbivore, but the near-complete dominance of dietary algae throughout ontogeny indicates the reliance on primary producers across all life stages. Given the importance of fucoid resources in the adult diet, any loss of macroalgal forests within south-eastern Australia may affect foraging success and persistence.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1545-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. VESAKOSKI ◽  
J. RAUTANEN ◽  
V. JORMALAINEN ◽  
T. RAMSAY

ChemInform ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. no-no
Author(s):  
M. T. HAMANN ◽  
C. S. OTTO ◽  
P. J. SCHEUER ◽  
D. C. DUNBAR

Author(s):  
F. G. Prahl ◽  
G. Eglinton ◽  
E. D. S. Corner ◽  
S. C. M. O'Hara ◽  
T. E. V. Forsberg

By means of capillary gas chromatography (GC) and capillary gas chromatography'mass spectrometry (GC/MS), the aliphatic hydrocarbons, fatty acids, fatty alcohols and 3ß-sterols were identified in saponified lipid extracts of the green alga,Dunaliella primolecta, the copepod,Calanus helgolandicus, and faecal pellets released by the animal when fed in the laboratory on the algal diet. Comparison of the lipid data for faecal pellets with those for the plant showed that marked changes to dietary lipids occur during passage through the gut of the copepod: (1) 17:2, 17:1, and 17:0 hydrocarbons are completely eliminated; (2) polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. 16:4 and 18:3) are significantly reduced relative to total fatty acids; (3) evidence of the conversion of phytol to dihydrophytol is observed; (4) C28 and C29 sterols with Δ and Δ nuclear unsaturation are selectively removed from the diet relative to Δ components. The Δ sterols are released unchanged as faecal lipids. Cholest-5-enol, absent from the original diet, is also released in the faecal pellets. These observations illuminate the fate of specific dietary lipids inCalanusand the contribution copepod faecal pellets can make to the overall lipid composition of bottom sediment in many marine environments.


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