turf algae and luttuce nudibranch

The Lettuce Nudibranch doesnโ€™t eat hair algae it will eat bryopsis

OK, updating with some info I just read on a bryopsis thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167632

Per horge

The sacoglossan "lettuce" slug Elysia crispata (formerly Tridachia crispata) must have come up in searches because of a published study on its juvenile dietary preferences by Clark & Bussaca (1978). The study listed Bryopsis plumosa among the algae that the juveniles chowed on. Batophora oerstedi, Halimeda spp, Penicillus spp, Caulerpa paspaloides and Caulerpa racemosa filled out the rest of the menu in the locality they studied.

Somehow, Clark & Bussaca's "will eat Bryopsis"
got twisted into "will eat Bryopsis exclusively"

Jensen & Clark (1983) even showed that Caulerpa verticillata beat out Bryopsis for food preference among the lettuce-slug juvies.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top