Abstract
Eggs of Aplysia oculifera (Adams and Reeve, 1850) were incubated in the laboratory. They hatched 8 to 9 d after spawning. Shell length (SL) of the hatched larvae was 102±2 μm. Larvae were fed on the unicellular algae Isochrysis galbana in a concentration of 104 cell ml-1, and after 45 to 60 d grew to a maximum SL of 385±11 μm. Larvae survived up to 330 d. A total of 12 species of algae from the natural habitat of A. oculifera were examined as metamorphosis inducers. Red algae Dasia sp., Jania sp., Hypnea sp. and Liagora sp. induced metamorphosis in 66.7±21.2, 28.3±17.7, 26.0±18.5 and 4.0±8.0% of the larvae, respectively. Green algae Enteromorpha intestinalis and Ulva sp. induced metamorphosis in 37.0±11.0 and 9.0±10.4% of the larvae, respectively. Cladophora sp. and Codium dichotomum, and the brown algae Padina pavonia, Colpomenia sinuosa, Hydroclathrus clathratus and Cystoseira sp. did not induce metamorphosis. There was no significant difference in the rate of metamorphosis between young (2 to 4 mo) and old (6 to 8 mo) larvae. Postmetamorphic juveniles grew and developed only when fed with E. intestinalis. They grew to a body length of>8 mm in 50 d. Postmetamorphic juveniles did not survive on other algae. The longevity of the planktonic A. oculifera larvae supports the hypothesis that the larvae can exist in the plankton and survive for several months until the next recruitment. The advantage of non-specificity in metamorphosis induction is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achituv Y, Susswein AJ (1985) Habitat selection by two mediterranean species of Aplysia: A. fasciata Poiret and A. depilans Gmelin (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia). J exp mar Biol Ecol 85:113–122
Audesirk TE (1979) A field study of growth and reproduction in Aplysia californica. Biol Bull mar biol Lab, Woods Hole 157:407–421
Brancato MS, Woollacott RM (1982) Effect of microbial films on settlement of bryozoan larvae (Bugula simplex, B. stolonifera and B. turrita). Mar Biol 71:51–56
Burke RD (1986) Pheromones and the gregarious settlement of marine invertebrate larvae. Bull mar Sci 39:323–331
Carefoot TH (1967) Studies on a sublittoral population of Aplysia punctata. J mar Biol Ass UK 47:335–350
Carefoot TH (1987) Aplysia: its biology and ecology. Oceanogr mar Biol A Rev 25:167–284
Chia F-S, Koss R (1988) Induction of settlement and metamorphosis of the veliger larvae of the nudibranch, Onchidoris bilamellata. Int J Invert Reprod Dev 14:53–70
Crisp DJ (1974) Factors influencing the settlement of the marine invertebrate larvae. In: Grant PT, Mackie AM (eds) Marine biodeterioration: an interdisciplinary study. Naval Inst Press. Annapolis, pp 177–265
Gev S, Achituv Y, Susswein AJ (1984) Seasonal determinants of the life cycle in two species of Aplysia found in shallow waters along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. J exp mar Biol Ecol 74:67–83
Hadfield MG (1978) Metamorphosis in marine molluscan larvae: an analysis of stimulus and response. In: Chia F-S, Rice ME (eds) Settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae. Elsevier, New York, pp 165–175
Hadfield MG, Scheuer D (1985) Evidence for a soluble metamorphic inducer in Phestilla: ecological, chemical and biological data. Bull mar Sci 37:556–566
Hadfield MG, Switzer-Dunlap M (1984) Opisthobranchs. In: Wilbur KM (ed) The Mollusca, Vol. 7. Academic Press, New York, pp 209–350
Kempf SC (1981) Long-lived larvae of the gastropod Aplysia juliana: do they disperse and metamorphose or just slowly fade away? Mar Ecol Prog Ser 6:61–65
Kirchman D, Graham S, Reish D, Mitchell R (1982) Bacteria induce settlement and metamorphosis of Janua (Dexiopira) brasiliensis Grube (Polychaeta: Spirorbidae). J exp mar Biol Ecol 56:153–163
Kriegstein AR (1977) Stages in the post-hatching development of Aplysia californica. J exp Zool 199:275–288
Kriegstein AR, Castellucci V, Kandel ER (1974) Metamorphosis of Aplysia californica in laboratory culture. Proc natn Acad Sci USA 71:3654–3658
Lazar B, Erez J (1991) Estimation of average primary production in the Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea, from water column chemistry. Proc. XII-th Conf Interuniversity Inst, H Steinitz Mar Biol Lab Eilat, pp 54–56
Lederhendler II, Bell L, Tobach E (1975) Preliminary observations of the behavior of Aplysia dactylomela (Rang, 1828) in Bimini waters. Veliger 17:347–353
Maki JS, Mitchell R (1985) Involvement of lectins in the settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae. Bull mar Sci 37:675–683
Morse ANC, Morse DE (1984) Recruitment and metamorphosis of Haliotis larvae induced by molecules uniquely available at the surface of crustose red algae. J exp mar Biol Ecol 75:191–215
Nadeau L, Paige JA, Starczak V, Capo T, Lafler J, Bidwell JP (1989) Metamorphic competence in Aplysia californica Cooper. J exp mar Biol Ecol 131:171–193
Otsuka C, Oliver L, Rouger Y, Tobach E (1981) Aplysia punctata added to list of laboratory-culture Aplysia. Hydrobiologia 83:239–240
Paige JA (1988) Biology, metamorphosis and postlarval development of Bursatella leachii plei Rang (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Bull mar Sci 42:65–75
Pawlik JR (1989) Larvae of the sea hare Aplysia californica settle and metamorphose on an assortment of macroalgal species. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 51:195–199
Pawlik JR, Hadfield MG (1990) A symposium on chemical factors that influence the settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae: introduction and perspective. Bull mar Sci 46:450–454
Pawlik JR, Kerman MR, Molinski TF, Harper MK, Faulkner DJ (1988) Defensive chemicals of the Spanish dancer nudibranch Hexabranchus sanguineus and its egg ribbons: macrolides derived from a sponge diet. J exp mar Biol Ecol 199:99–109
Pennings PC (1991) Spatial and temporal variation in recruitment of Aplysia californica Cooper: patterns, mechanisms and consequences. J exp mar Biol Ecol 146:253–274
Plaut I (1993) Ecology and ecophysiology of the sea hare, Aplysia oculifera (Adams and Reeve, 1850) in the Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba). Ph.D. thesis, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (in Hebrew with English abstract)
Reiss Z, Hottinger L (1984) The Gulf of Aqaba, ecological micropalentology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Sarver DJ (1978) The ecology and energetics of Aplysia juliana (Quoy and Qaimard, 1832). Ph.D. thesis, University of Hawaii
Strathmann RR, Strathmann MF (1982) The relation between adult size and brooding in marine invertebrates. Am Nat 119:91–101
Strathmann RR, Strathmann MF, Emson RH (1984) Does limited brood capacity link adult size, brooding and simultaneous hermaphroditism? A test with the starfish, Asterina phylactica. Am Nat 123:796–818
Strenth NE, Blankenship JE (1978) On the valid name of the common Texas and Florida species of Aplysia (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Bull mar Sci 28:249–254
Strenth NE, Blankenship JE (1991) Reproductive patterns and seasonal occurrence of the sea hare Aplysia brasiliana Rang (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia) at South Padre Island, Texas. Am malac Bull 9:85–88
Susswein AJ, Achituv Y, Markovich S (1987) Aplysia from shallow waters along the coasts of Israel. Cah Biol mar 28:97–110
Switzer-Dunlap M (1978) Larval biology and metamorphosis of Aplysiid gastropods. In: Chia F-S, Rice ME (eds) Settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae. Elsevier, New York, pp 197–206
Switzer-Dunlap M, Hadfield MG (1977) Observations on development, larval growth and metamorphosis of four species of Aplysiidae (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) in laboratory culture. J exp mar Biol Ecol 29:245–261
Todd CD, Bentley MG, Havenhand JN (1991) Larval metamorphosis of the opisthobranch mollusc Adalaria proxima (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia): the effects of choline and elevated potassium ion concentration. J mar biol Ass UK 71:53–72
Usuki I (1970) Studies on the life history of Aplysids and their allies in the Sado district of the Japan Sea. Scient Rep Niigata Univ, (Ser D, Biology) 7:91–105
Yamazaki M, Kisugi J, Kimura K, Kamiya H, Mizuno D (1985) Purification of antineoplastic factor from eggs of a sea hare. Fedn eur biochem Soc (FEBS) Lett 185:295–298
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Plaut, I., Borut, A. & Spira, M.E. Growth and metamorphosis of Aplysia oculifera larvae in laboratory culture. Marine Biology 122, 425–430 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350875
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350875