Elysia crispata

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Lettuce sea slug
Lettuce Sea Slug 11-03-2006.jpg
A live individual of the lettuce sea slug in situ, head end towards the lower right
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Family: Plakobranchidae
Genus: Elysia
Species:
E. crispata
Binomial name
Elysia crispata
(Mörch, 1863)
Synonyms [1]
List
  • Elysia (Tridachia) crispataMörch, 1863
  • Elysia clarkiPierce, Curtis, Massey, Bass, Karl & Finney, 2006
  • Elysia pruvotfolaeEr. Marcus, 1957
  • Elysia schrammiMörch, 1863
  • Elysia verrilliPruvot-Fol, 1946
  • Tridachia crispata(Mörch, 1863)
  • Tridachia schrammi(Mörch, 1863)
  • Tridachia whiteaeEr. Marcus, 1957
A blue lettuce sea slug. Westpunt, Curacao. Blue lettuce sea slug.jpg
A blue lettuce sea slug. Westpunt, Curacao.
A white and blue lettuce sea slug. Westpunt, Curacao. White and blue Lettuce sea slug.jpg
A white and blue lettuce sea slug. Westpunt, Curacao.

Elysia crispata, common name the lettuce sea slug or lettuce slug, is a large and colorful species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk. [1]

Contents

The lettuce slug resembles a nudibranch, but it is not closely related to that clade of gastropods; it is classified as a sacoglossan.

Description

This species is called the lettuce slug because it is often green in color, and it always has a very frilly edge to its parapodia. This makes the slug resemble the curly kinds of lettuce, such as the lollo rosso variety. The maximum length of this species is about 5 cm and 3 cm in width. [2]

The lettuce slug is extremely variable in color: it can also be blue, or very pale with red lines or yellow lines.

Distribution

This species lives in the tropical parts of the western Atlantic, and the Caribbean faunal zone. They are found in more coastal and tropical reef areas where the water is shallow and clear. [3]

Diet

E. crispata can be either heterotrophic or autotrophic throughout their lifespan. [4] As juveniles, food is consumed and digested quickly, with little chloroplast retention. Upon reaching maturity, kleptoplasty becomes an important energy source. [4] The primary food source of E. crispata is relatively unknown, although some individuals have been known to consume a diversity of algal species such as Vaucheria litorea, Caulerpa verticillata, Caulerpa racemosa, Halimeda discoidea, Halimeda incrassate, Halimeda monile, and Penicillus capitatus; C. verticillata being suitable for a limited amount of time. [4] [5] [6] This diversity in food sources is a different characteristic compared to other Sacoglossan’s who are specialized for one species of algae, and gives E. crispata a survival advantage when food is depleted or sparse. [6] Chloroplasts within their parapodia (fleshy dorsal protrusions) continue to produce energy products through carbon fixation throughout their life and have been found to function efficiently for a little over a month. [5]

Kleptoplasty

Also known as chloroplast symbiosis, kleptoplasty is the energy-providing mechanism that gives the Sacoglossan’s the nickname, “solar-powered sea slugs”, and E. crispata the name, “lettuce sea slug.” As algal food is being digested, the chloroplasts are absorbed into the cells lining the digestive tract and up into their parapodia. [7] How many chloroplasts the slug sequesters and the length of retention depends on the individual species of slug. Chloroplast retention in E. crispata tends to last around 40 days. [5] Given the variation in their diet, chloroplasts from different algal species have been found to be taken up into the same cells, functioning normally alongside the other. [6]

E. crispata is closely related to E. chlorotica, both having a long-term chloroplast retention ability, where other species within the same genus tend to have more short-term retention. [5] This ability makes it possible to withstand long periods of time without food. In the absence of food, E. crispata will invest energy trying to find food rather than slowing down and conserving energy. [5] [7] Although it hasn’t been exclusively studied for this organism, one possibility of the mechanism behind long-term retention is due to the amount of extracellular components which prolong chloroplast activity, depending on the species of algae eaten. [5] As E. crispata continues to consume food, the chloroplasts ingested will continuously replace older chloroplasts while food is available. [7] Their long-term retention is an evolutionary adaption which allows a greater chance of survival during drastic environmental changes. [7]

Reproduction

Very little is known of the mating behaviors of E. crispata. Typically the egg mass is laid on flat, upright algae, and embryo development takes about 15 days. [8] Eggs are very small, between 106–113 micrometres, and eggs vary in average size by location. [8]

Elysia crispata eggs on an aquarium pane. Elysia Crispata Reproduction.png
Elysia crispata eggs on an aquarium pane.

Newly hatched E. crispata demonstrate a dispersal dimorphism, not to be confused with poecilogony. [8] Babies can either undergo intracapsular metamorphosis, or post-hatching metamorphosis, giving E. crispata variation in their dispersal strategy. [8] This allows some clutches to remain stationary to that habitat, or allowing them to swim to a new habitat before metamorphosing. [8] Some species of Sacoglossan such as Elysia tuca, invest extra energy to create extra-cellular yolk which is weaved into their egg mass, providing a greater abundance of nutrients for larval growth, which in turn produces larger progeny. [8] E. crispata, however, does not produce extra-cellular yolk, which affects the size of the eggs. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea slug</span> Group of marine gastropods

Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacoglossa</span> Clade of gastropods

Sacoglossa, commonly known as the sacoglossans or the "solar-powered sea slugs", are a superorder of small sea slugs and sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that belong to the clade Heterobranchia. Sacoglossans live by ingesting the cellular contents of algae, hence they are sometimes called "sap-sucking sea slugs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kleptoplasty</span> Form of algae symbiosis

Kleptoplasty or kleptoplastidy is a process in symbiotic relationships whereby plastids, notably chloroplasts from algae, are sequestered by the host. The word is derived from Kleptes (κλέπτης) which is Greek for thief. The alga is eaten normally and partially digested, leaving the plastid intact. The plastids are maintained within the host, temporarily continuing photosynthesis and benefiting the host.

<i>Elysia subornata</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia subornata is a species of small sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae.

<i>Elysia chlorotica</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia chlorotica is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that clade. Instead it is a member of the clade Sacoglossa, the sap-sucking sea slugs. Some members of this group use chloroplasts from the algae they eat for photosynthesis, a phenomenon known as kleptoplasty. Elysia chlorotica is one species of such "solar-powered sea slugs". It lives in a subcellular endosymbiotic relationship with chloroplasts of the marine heterokont alga Vaucheria litorea.

<i>Elysia viridis</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia viridis, the sap-sucking slug, is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae.

<i>Elysia</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Elysia is a genus of sea slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Plakobranchidae. These animals are colorful sea slugs, and they can superficially resemble nudibranchs, but are not very closely related to them. Instead they are sacoglossans, commonly known as sap-sucking slugs.

<i>Elysia timida</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia timida is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk. Found in the Mediterranean and nearby parts of the Atlantic, it is herbivorous, feeding on various algae in shallow water.

<i>Elysia pusilla</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia pusilla is a species of small sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is a sacoglossan.

<i>Elysia maoria</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia maoria is a species of marine gastropod mollusk in the family Plankobranchidae. It is found off of New Zealand.

<i>Plakobranchus ocellatus</i> Species of gastropod

Plakobranchus ocellatus is a species of sea slug, a sacoglossan, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Plakobranchidae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Vaucheria litorea</i> Species of alga

Vaucheria litorea is a species of yellow-green algae (Xanthophyceae). It grows in a filamentous fashion. V. litorea is a common intertidal species of coastal brackish waters and salt marshes of the Northern Atlantic, along the coasts of Europe, North America and New Zealand. It is also found in the Eastern Pacific coasts of Washington state. It is found to be able to tolerate a large range of salinities, making it euryhaline.

<i>Elysia margaritae</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia margaritae is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc.

<i>Elysia australis</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia australis is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae. This sea slug resembles a nudibranch, but it is not closely related to that order of gastropods, instead it is a sacoglossan. It occurs in Australia.

<i>Elysia diomedea</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia diomedea is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae.

<i>Elysia trisinuata</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia trisinuata is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae. This sea slug resembles a nudibranch but is not closely related to that order of gastropods, instead belonging to another clade, Sacoglossa, the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.

<i>Elysia bangtawaensis</i> Species of gastropod

Elysia bangtawaensis is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae. Although this sea slug resembles a nudibranch, it is not a nudibranch but is part of a rather different clade, the sacoglossans, also known as the "sap-sucking" sea slugs.

<i>Costasiella ocellifera</i> Species of gastropod

Costasiella ocellifera is a small (5–13 mm) species of sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Costasiellidae. Costasiella ocellifera, and other members of the Costasiellidae family are often mistakenly classified as nudibranchs because they superficially resemble other species of that group, but they are actually a part of the Sacoglossa superorder of sea slugs, also known as the “sap-sucking sea slugs,” "crawling leaves" or the "solar-powered sea slugs." C. ocellifera was discovered by Simroth in 1895, and was initially classified as Doto ocellifera. The Brazilian species, Costasiella liliana, is a synonym of C. ocellifera.Costasiella ocellifera shows long-term retention of functional kleptoplasty.

<i>Elysia marginata</i> Species of sea slug

Elysia marginata is a marine gastropod in the family Plakobranchidae. It is known for its ability to regenerate its whole body and heart after autotomizing it from its head.

<i>Costasiella nonatoi</i> Species of mollusc (sea slug)

Costasiella nonatoi is a species of sacoglossan sea slug in the genus Costasiella. It is one of few species in the genus that is not photosynthetic. The description of this species was based on two specimens which were serially sectioned and designated as the holotype. The species was named after Dr. Edmundo Nonato, a professor at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo.

References

  1. 1 2 Bieler R, Bouchet P, Gofas S, Marshall B, Rosenberg G, La Perna R, Neubauer TA, Sartori AF, Schneider S, Vos C, ter Poorten JJ, Taylor J, Dijkstra H, Finn J, Bank R, Neubert E, Moretzsohn F, Faber M, Houart R, Picton B, Garcia-Alvarez O, eds. (2022). "Elysia crispata Mörch, 1863". MolluscaBase. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  2. ↑ "The Sea Slug Forum - Elysia crispata". 2010-07-15.
  3. ↑ Clark, Kerri B. (May 1994). "Ascoglossan (=Sacoglossa) Molluscs in the Florida Keys: Rare Marine Invertebrates at Special Risk". Bulletin of Marine Science. 54 (3): 900–916.
  4. 1 2 3 Thompson, T. E.; G. M. Jarman (May 2013). "Nutrition of Tridachia crispata (Mörch)(Sacoglossa)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 55 (2): 239–244. doi:10.1093/mollus/55.2.239.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Händeler, Katharina; Yvonne P Grzymbowski; Patrick J Krug; Keike Wägele (1 December 2009). "Functional chloroplasts in metazoan cells - a unique evolutionary strategy in animal life". Frontiers in Zoology. 6 (28): 28. doi: 10.1186/1742-9994-6-28 . PMC   2790442 . PMID   19951407.
  6. 1 2 3 Curtis, N.E.; S.E. Massey; J.A. Schwartz; T.K. Maugel; S.K. Pierce (1 August 2005). "The intracellular, functional chloroplasts in adult sea slugs (Elysia crispata) come from several algal species, and are also different from those in juvanile slugs". Microscopy and Microanalysis. S02. 11: 1194–1195. doi: 10.1017/S1431927605505774 .
  7. 1 2 3 4 Middlebrooks, Michael L.; Susan S. Bell; Sidney K. Pierce (23 September 2012). "The kleptoplastic sea slug Elysia clarki prolongs photosynthesis by synthesizing chlorophyll a and b". Symbiosis. 57 (3): 127–132. doi:10.1007/s13199-012-0187-x. S2CID   13226232.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Krug, Patrick J. (June 2009). "Not My "Type": Larval Dispersal Dimorphisms and Bet-Hedging in Opisthobranch Life Histories". The Biological Bulletin. 216 (3): 355–372. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.576.9021 . doi:10.1086/BBLv216n3p355. PMID   19556600. S2CID   1316913 . Retrieved 11 June 2013.
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