Amphipod uses Clione for defence
January 12, 2006
From: Roman Lustrik
Hi Bill,
Just wanted to note that an Antarctic hyperiidean amphipod Hyperiella dilatata carries around a Clione limacina on its back to avoid predation by fish. I found this in Invertebrate Zoology (Ruppert, Fox, Barns) page 656, paragraph 2.
No articles regarding the "symbiosis" cited at the end of the chapter, but I found some references in Google's Scholar but none of the relevant ones would work for me. Hopefully you'll have more luck. :)
Kind regards,
Roman Lustrik
roman.lustrik@siol.net
Lustrik, R., 2006 (Jan 12) Amphipod uses Clione for defence. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15527Dear Roman,
Thanks for drawing my attention to this fascinating 'symbiosis'. Here is part of the abstract from Yoshida et al (1995):
"The pteropod Clione antarctica (= Clione limacina) is a shell-less, pelagic mollusc which blooms each austral summer in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. An intriguing relationship exists between C. antarctica and an antarctic hyperiid amphipod, Hyperiella dilatata; the amphipod, a frequent prey item of several antarctic fish, is capable of grasping C. antarctica from the water column and positioning it on its dorsum where the chemically defended mollusc serves to prevent predation of the amphipod. This protective property of the pteropod was demonstrated by the rejection of amphipod - mollusc pairs, as well as the mollusc itself, by predatory fish. Amphipods alone, or amphipods which dropped their attached pteropod, were readily consumed. Utilizing these same predatory fish as the basis of a bioassay guided isolation, carried out at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, has resulted in the isolation of a substance which protects C. antarctica, and ultimately H. dilatata, from predation. We report here the chemical nature of this feeding deterrent which we have named pteroenone."
This symbiosis reminds me very much of the xanthid crab Lybia which apparently defends itself by holding a small anemone, Bunodeopsis, in each of its claws. Concerning Clione antarctica and Clione limacina I suspect more work will need to be done before we can confidently say whether they are one or two species.
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Bryan, P. J., Yoshida, W. Y., McClintock, J. B., and Baker, B. J. (1995) Ecological role for pteroenone, a novel antifeedant from the conspicuous antarctic pteropod Clione antarctica (Gymnosomata: Gastropoda) . Marine Biology, 122: 271-277.
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Yoshida, W. Y., Bryan, P. J., Baker, B. J., and McClintock, J. B. (1995) Pteroenone: A Defensive Metabolite of the Abducted Antarctic Pteropod Clione antarctica. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 60: 780-782.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
