Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/60219
Type: Artigo de Evento
Title: The relationship between seaweed diet and purple fluid production in Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828 (Gastropoda : Opisthobranchia) From Northeast, Brazil
Title in English: The relationship between seaweed diet and purple fluid production in Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828 (Gastropoda : Opisthobranchia) From Northeast, Brazil
Authors: Bezerra, Luis Ernesto Arruda
Carvalho, Ana de Fátima Fontenele Urano
Barreira, Luciana Aires
Nogueira, Vanessa Lúcia Rodrigues
Silva, José Roberto Feitosa
Vasconcelos, Ilka Maria
Melo, Vânia Maria Maciel
Keywords: Espécie- Aplysia dactylomela;Biodiversidade;Distribuição geográfica
Issue Date: 2004
Publisher: Journal Of Shellfish Research
Citation: BEZERRA, Luís Ernesto Arruda; CARVALHO, Ana de Fátima Fontenele Urano; BARREIRA, Luciana Aires; NOGUEIRA, Vanessa Lúcia Rodrigues; SILVA, José Roberto Feitosa; VASCONCELOS, Ilka Maria; MELO, Vânia Maria Maciel . The relationship between seaweed diet and purple fluid production in Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828 (Gastropoda : Opisthobranchia) From Northeast, Brazil. Journal of Shellfish Research, United States, v. 23, n. 2, p. 581-584, 2004.
Abstract: Aplysia dactylomela is a large marine opisthobranch gastropod, which inhabits shallow tropical shoreline regions, eats red and green algae, and releases a purple ink when disturbed. Many functions have been proposed for this secretion and although there is no consensus on this, some of its constituents are believed to be derived from the red algal diet, it may provide the snail with a substantial survival advantage. A. californica only produces ink when it ingests red seaweeds. In some locations of the Northeastern Coast of Brazil, A. dactylomela is seen feeding only on green seaweeds, and yet it releases the ink. The aim of this work is to investigate this contradiction by studying the feeding habits of A. dactylomela and assessing the relationship between the algal diet and the purple ink. Feeding habits were investigated by field observation and by analysis of gut contents. Purple ink production was monitored by histologic analysis of the ink gland from sea hares kept in water tanks, fed with either red or green seaweeds. Composition and protein profile of the purple ink also were studied. Homologies between seaweed components and the purple ink were sought for by immunodiffusion techniques. Our findings are that the sea hare A. dactylomela, likewise other Aplysia species, needs to consume red seaweeds to be able to secrete the purple ink. The proteins of the ink seem to be synthesized by the sea hare itself and are not obtained directly from the diet, as is the case for the ink pigments
URI: http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/60219
ISMN: 0730-8000
Appears in Collections:LABOMAR - Artigos publicados em revistas científicas

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