Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand

April 17, 1998
From: P.M. Johnson

I'm a PhD student in zoology at the University of Washington working on defence in sea hares, particularly the ink and opaline systems of Aplysia. I'm looking for a site in Australia or New Zealand to do some field work on sea hares, particularly Aplysia species. Does anyone know of sites were they can be found during the months of August and September?

P.M. Johnson

Department of Zoology
University of Washington,
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

pmj@u.washington.edu

Johnson, P.M., 1998 (Apr 17) Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/136

Sea hares are often common in Australia and New Zealand but I'm afraid the time you are suggesting (August-September) is our winter, which is not the best time for many seasonal intertidal and shallow water animals. I have contacted Richard Willan who studied the ecology of Sea Hares at Leigh Marine Laboratory, in New Zealand some years ago and you will find his reply above. If you can change the times you are likely to visit then Leigh, just north of Auckland would be a worthwhile place to work. Aplysia dactylomela is abundant there over summer and autumn (February-June), and other species such as A. parvula and A. juliana not difficult to find nearby.

Another possibility would be for you to contact Dr P. Steinberg, School of Biological Science University of New South Wales, Sydney who is interested in the ecology of chemical defences against herbivores in marine algae and in marine plant/herbivore interactions. He has had students working on aspects of Aplysia biology and keeps aquarium populations.

If you are interested in Richard Willan's suggestion about Heron Island contact details are available at the University of Queensland's website.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Apr 17). Comment on Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand by P.M. Johnson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/136

Factsheet

Collecting sites in Australasia

Related messages

  1. Sea Hare abundance on GBR
    From: Julie Marshall, March 8, 2002
  2. Sea hare abundance on the GBR
    From: Cathryn Clarke, March 5, 2002
  3. Re: Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand
    From: Kirsten Benkendorff, May 19, 1998
  4. Re: Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand
    From: P.M. Johnson, April 21, 1998
  5. Re: Sea Hare sites in Australia/New Zealand
    From: Richard Willan, April 20, 1998

Show factsheet and all related messages