ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHLOROPLAST RETENTION IN THE SACOGLOSSAN GASTROPOD ELYSIA TIMIDA

1 January 1993

journal article
Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Molluscan Studies

Vol. 59 (1) , 95-104
https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/59.1.95

Abstract

Elysia timida is a common and endemic inhabitant of shallow and very well lit waters in the Mediterranean. This sacoglossan slug retains functional symbiotic chloroplasts derived from its algal food, Acetabularia acetabulum, although the chloroplasts are not transmitted in the spawn. After hatching and until day 12, Elysia timida juveniles do not retain these chloroplasts in the digestive gland. However, newly hatched juveniles retain chloroplasts from Cladophora dalmatica. Development varies seasonally between direct (December to April) and lecithotrophic (October, November and May), and this variation may be an adaptation to seasonal calcification of the algal food Acetabularia acetabulum.

Keywords

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