Behavioral patterns of Aplysia fasciata along the Mediterranean Coast of Israel

doi:10.1016/S0163-1047(84)90667-8

Behavioral and Neural Biology

Volume 41, Issue 1, May 1984, Pages 7-22

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-1047(84)90667-8 Get rights and content

Aplysia fasciata were observed in a number of environments. They were usually aggregated. Animals were occasionally buried in sand. Aplysia were less mobile and more deeply hidden when waves were strong. Aplysia swam only in a calm environment. A wide variety of seaweeds were eaten, but the most common food was Ulva lactuca. Food arousal and satiation occur in the field. Often the pattern of feeding was a gradual slowing down and eventual cessation of eating; however, many meals deviated from this pattern. Appetitive behaviors preceding mating as a male were similar to those preceding eating. Aroused animals mated as males, while passive animals mated as females: mating as a male produced arousal, expressed as an increased likelihood to respond to food or to mate as a male. Two males could simultaneously impregnate one female. Animals mate in large groups, constantly changing partners. Mating groups occur in linear chain, branched chain, and closed chain configurations. Egg laying and egg masses were observed in areas inhabited by animals. Inking was never observed without experimenter intervention, even when a crab attacked an Aplysia.

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Use of the sea hare (Aplysia fasciata) in marine pollution biomonitoring of harbors and bays
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Citation Excerpt :
During our study, we observed high numbers of adult sea hares in April–May as animals migrated into calmer harbor and bay areas of Port Isabel, Texas to feed on dominant occurring green algae. Known for its pelagic free swimming, Aplysia also crawl and burrow in sediments (Carefoot, 1987; Susswein et al., 1983, 1984). However, the potential of sea hare exposure to As, Cd, and Pb from bottom sediments in the LLM is unexpected, because all known mean values (As BDL, Cd BDL, and Pb 1.41 ± 1.55 μ g− 1 (ppm)) from the area are below Texas state sediment contaminant levels (As 8.2, Cd 1.2, and Pb 46.7 ppm) (TCEQ, 2006; Deyoe, H., unpublished results).
Our study evaluated heavy metal concentrations in soft tissues of sea hare, Aplysia fasciata, from the Lower Laguna Madre, Texas. Heavy metals in tissues followed Se > As > Pb > Cd. Concentrations ranged As (BDL-28.08), Cd (BDL-5.50), Pb (BDL-12.85) and Se (4.25–93.43 ppm). Median As, Cd, Pb, and Se tissue levels exceeded exposure levels. Significant relationships occurred in metal-metal (AsCd, AsPb, CdPb, CdSe, and PbSe), metal-tissue (significant Se uptake by inhalant and exhalant siphons and As in the hepatopancreas), and metal-metal within tissue (AsPb in the hepatopancreas and CdPb in the digestive cecum) analyses (p < 0.05). Bioaccumulation factors (BAF) suggested the inhalant siphon, hepatopancreas, and digestive cecum function as macroconcentrators of Cd, hepatopancreas and digestive cecum as macroconcentrators of Pb, and all tissues were deconcentrators for As and Se. As a bioaccumulator of heavy metals, Aplysia was evaluated as a bioindicator of marine pollution in harbors and bays.
Newly identified water-borne protein pheromones interact with attractin to stimulate mate attraction in Aplysia
2006, Peptides
The water-borne protein attractin is a potent sex pheromone involved in forming and maintaining mating and egg-laying aggregations in the marine mollusk Aplysia. Binary blends of attractin and either enticin, temptin, or seductin, three other Aplysia protein pheromones, stimulate mate attraction. The four pheromones are thought to act in concert during egg-laying. The new data presented here show that: (1) the water-borne odor of non-laying Aplysia brasiliana further increases the attractiveness of attractin and of eggs in T-maze bioassays. This suggests that individual Aplysia release additional factors that enhance the effects of attractin, enticin, temptin, and seductin during egg-laying; (2) the N-terminal region of enticin aligns well with the conserved epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain of mammalian reproductive proteins known as fertilins, which may mediate intercellular adhesion interactions between eggs and sperm; (3) temptin, according to fold recognition servers, may also have an EGF-like fold. Enticin and temptin also have conserved metal binding sequences that may play a role in their signaling behavior. These results suggest that aspects of mammalian egg–sperm interactions (fertilins) may have evolved from pheromonal signaling mechanisms. We also review the structure, expression, localization, release, and behavioral actions of attractin, enticin, temptin, and seductin.
Swimming in the sea hare Aplysia brasiliana: Cost of transport, parapodial morphometry, and swimming behavior
2006, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
The energetics and behavior of the parapodial-swimming Aplysia brasiliana were investigated in order to compare net cost of transport (COT_net) between swimming and crawling, and to compare transport costs with other swimmers. Oxygen consumption (V_O₂) increased with increasing animal mass for resting, crawling, and swimming animals. Slopes of the regressions of log V_O₂ on log mass were 0.90, 0.91, and 0.89 for resting, crawling, and swimming, respectively. The regression for resting V_O₂ on mass was significantly lower than regressions of crawling and swimming on mass, which fell into a statistically homogenous subgroup. During 4-h swimming bouts, parapodial beat frequency dropped by less than 10% of starting values after 2 h and then stabilized for the remainder of the trial, whereas velocity steadily decreased to about 70% of starting values over the 4-h period. Initial beat frequency (at the start of a swimming bout) was negatively related to body mass, varying from 1.1 beat s^− 1 for a 34 g individual to 0.7 beats s^− 1 for a 500 g individual. Final beat frequency (at the end of a swimming bout) was also negatively related to body mass, but had a significantly lower intercept than initial beat frequency. Neither initial swimming velocity nor final swimming velocity was related to mass, but final velocity was significantly lower than initial velocity. A 250 g A. brasiliana swam at 345 m h^− 1 and crawled at 7 m h^− 1. Swimming COT_net (0.1 ml O₂ kg^− 1 m^− 1) for a 250 g A. brasiliana was 50 times less than crawling COT_net (5.3 ml O₂ kg^− 1 m^− 1). While the crawling COT_net for A. brasiliana fell within the range of other marine gastropods, swimming COT_net was less than that of swimming crustaceans, and much less than another gastropod, Melibe leonina, that uses lateral bending to swim.
Aplysia capsulin is localized to egg capsules and egg cordon sheaths and shares sequence homology with Drosophila dec-1 gene products
2005, Peptides
Differential library screening of an albumen gland cDNA library, Western blot analysis, protein expression, immunolocalization studies, comparative genomics, and secretion assays identified a major Aplysia californica albumen gland protein (‘capsulin’) that is localized to egg capsules and to the sheaths of the egg cordon. Capsulin shared sequence homology with eggshell proteins encoded by the Drosophila dec-1 gene. The 1790-amino acid A. californica precursor contains 17 repeat sequences that are flanked by basic residue processing sites. The numerous proteolytic processing sites may facilitate the breakdown of capsulin prior to when veliger larvae break out of egg capsules as free-swimming larvae. An Aplysia brasiliana capsulin repeat sequence was 97% identical to its A. californica homolog. Capsulin fragments were not detected in the eluates of egg cordons, suggesting that capsulin is not a candidate water-borne pheromone precursor.
Aplysia seductin is a water-borne protein pheromone that acts in concert with attractin to stimulate mate attraction
2005, Peptides
Mate attraction in Aplysia involves the long-distance water-borne protein pheromones attractin, enticin, and temptin which are released during egg-laying. Other water-borne pheromones are predicted to act in concert with attractin, enticin, and temptin, but their identities were unknown. We recently identified a highly expressed Aplysia californica albumen gland gene (Alb-23) that encoded a novel protein by differential library screening of an albumen gland cDNA library. To determine whether Alb-23 (‘seductin’) was a water-borne pheromone, we employed Western blot analysis, purification and expression of albumen gland proteins, immunolocalization studies, pheromone secretion assays, comparative genomics, and behavioral bioassays. Immunoreactive seductin was detected in eluates of egg cordons, indicating that seductin was secreted onto the cordon during egg laying. Aplysia brasiliana seductin was 94% identical to its A. californica homolog. In T-maze attraction assays, the combination of attractin and seductin was significantly attractive to potential mates, whereas either protein alone was not. Data from this and previous studies support the hypothesis that seductin is a water-borne protein pheromone that acts in concert with attractin, enticin, and temptin to attract Aplysia to form and maintain mating aggregations.
Molluscan attractins, a family of water-borne protein pheromones with interspecific attractiveness
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The marine mollusk Aplysia releases the water-borne pheromone attractin during egg laying. This small protein stimulates the formation and maintenance of mating and egg-laying aggregations. Attractin has been characterized from five Aplysia species: A. californica, A. brasiliana, A. fasciata, A. vaccaria, and A. depilans. We describe here the isolation of attractin from Bursatella leachii, and show that it belongs to the same protein family. The pattern of residue conservation, especially the six invariant cysteines, suggests that all of these attractins have a common fold. The nuclear magnetic resonance solution structure of A. californica attractin contains two antiparallel α-helices, the second of which contains the heptapeptide sequence IEECKTS that has been implicated in attractin function. Synthetic peptides containing this IEECKTS region are attractive, and mutating surface exposed charged residues within this region of attractin abolishes attractin activity. This suggests that the second helix is an essential part of the receptor-binding interface. In contrast to the peptide pheromonal attractants in amphibians, which are species specific, the attractins are, to our knowledge, the first water-borne peptide or protein pheromone family in invertebrates and vertebrates that are not species specific.

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¹: We would like to thank E. Feldman and M. Schwarz for participating in some observations, and for useful discussions. This work was supported by a grant from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (B.S.F.).

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Rapid articleBehavioral patterns of Aplysia fasciata along the Mediterranean Coast of Israel

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Rapid article
Behavioral patterns of Aplysia fasciata along the Mediterranean Coast of Israel