Behaviour in Bursatella

July 27, 1998
From: Leah Wiesenfeld

I would like some information on Bursatella leachii, a sea slug that resides in an intertidal habitat in the coastal waters of Puerto Rico. A study demonstrated that the individual slugs varied their distances from one another over the course of a day. For example, the average distance between individuals at midnight was 8.0 cm. At 4 AM it was 8.9 cm. At 8 AM it was about 44.8 cm. At noon, the avg. distance was 174.0 cm. The distance was at it's highest at 4 PM at 350.5 cm. At 8 PM it was 60.5 cm. At midnight, the slugs had returned to 8.0 cm distances. Any ideas on what physiological or environmental variables could cause this distribution pattern? Thank you.

Leah Wiesenfeld
New York, NY, USA

yoda5147@hotmail.com

Wiesenfeld, L., 1998 (Jul 27) Behaviour in Bursatella. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/154

Dear Leah,
Bursatella leachii is found throughout the world. Slight differences in colour and shape have suggested that we should consider it to have evolved into distinct subspecies in different parts of the world, such as the West Indies, West Africa, South Africa, Indo-West Pacific and the Mediterranean. One of the characteristic features of this species is that it is often found in huge dense populations. I remember some years ago being unable to walk along a beach in New Zealand without standing on Bursatella so leaving squashed animals and a set of purple footsteps (from their ink) along the beach. The subspecies in the West Indies which you probably have is Bursatella leachii plei which has been the subject of a number of studies which have been reviewed by John Paige (1988: Bulletin of Marine Science, 42(1): 65-75). In that he records examples where local populations can reach enormous numbers and densities of 660 individuals per square metre.. enough to interfere with the local shrimp fishery.

Bursatella leachii feeds mainly on blue-green algae which can form thick mats over muddy shores and films over larger macroalgae. Your observation of animals showing a diurnal (day-night)rhythm of activity is very interesting, but I suspect why they do it will need further research. Aplysiids are being used to study many aspects of how nervous systems work but there is still very little work that has been done on field populations. Many aplysiids show a diurnal rhythm of activity, some species being active during the day and quiet at night, and others showing the opposite. Perhaps your Bursatella leachii are more active during the day and so become more spread out as they forage for food. What is not clear is why they apparently return at night to cluster closely together. You don't say how long you have studied the population? Have they been doing this regularly for some time? Perhaps someone studying aplysiid behaviour could give us their thoughts? .. Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Jul 27). Comment on Behaviour in Bursatella by Leah Wiesenfeld. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/154

Factsheet

Bursatella leachii

Related messages

  1. Bursatella leachii from Thailand
    From: Nick Chapman, May 20, 2010
  2. Bursatella leachii from sthn Queensland
    From: Deb Aston, April 29, 2010
  3. Sydney Sea hare ID
    From: George Evatt, April 29, 2010
  4. Re: Bursatella leachii in northeastern Spain
    From: Bella Galil, March 23, 2010
  5. Re: Bursatella leachii in northeastern Spain
    From: Levent Cavas, March 23, 2010
  6. Re: Bursatella leachii in northeastern Spain
    From: Boris Weitzmann, March 19, 2010
  7. Re: Bursatella leachii in northeastern Spain
    From: Bella Galil, March 19, 2010
  8. Probable Bursatella leachii from Japanese waters
    From: Hiroyuki Tanaka, March 19, 2010
  9. Bursatella leachii in northeastern Spain
    From: Boris Weitzmann, January 29, 2010
  10. Re: Bursatella leachii subspecies
    From: Deng Yan Zhang, August 18, 2009
  11. Bursatella leachii from New Zealand
    From: Graham Bould, March 27, 2009
  12. Re: Bursatella washing ashore East Florida
    From: Ed Proffitt, December 12, 2008
  13. Bursatella leachii & egg masses from Florida
    From: Anne DuPont, November 21, 2008
  14. Re: Bursatella leachii or Bursatella leachi?
    From: Fabio Crocetta, November 21, 2008
  15. Bursatella leachii or Bursatella leachi?
    From: Fabio Crocetta, November 20, 2008
  16. Re: Bursatella leachii from Florida - egg mass
    From: Robert Bocik, November 18, 2008
  17. Bursatella leachii from Mozambique
    From: Valda Fraser, April 14, 2008
  18. Re: Bursatella leachii from Lembeh Straits
    From: Linda Rutherford, March 28, 2008
  19. Bursatella leachii from Turkey
    From: M. Kazak & L. Cavas, November 24, 2007
  20. Bursatella washing ashore East Florida
    From: Jon Moore, November 13, 2007
  21. Bursatella leachii at Sanibel Island, Florida
    From: Camilla Cheatham, November 12, 2007
  22. Slug or not?
    From: Gary Jackson, August 11, 2007
  23. Sea Slug Mating Season? - Florida
    From: Lisa Overstreet, July 19, 2007
  24. Why so many sea slugs??
    From: Dew Bakker, July 19, 2007
  25. Sea slug sighting - Panama City Beach, Florida
    From: James Ker, July 18, 2007
  26. Re: Sea slugs washed ashore - Florida
    From: Brian Mason, July 18, 2007
  27. Sea Hares at Panama City Beach, Florida
    From: Theresia Schwinghammer, July 17, 2007
  28. Sea slugs washed ashore - Florida
    From: Cheryl Bodden, July 16, 2007
  29. What type is this?
    From: Tom Johnson, July 16, 2007
  30. Bursatella leachii
    From: Doug Clark, June 28, 2007
  31. Fremantle, Western Australia - many new sightings
    From: Brent Murdoch, May 8, 2007
  32. Bursatella leachii from Florida
    From: Mark Javer, April 3, 2007
  33. Bursatella in aquarium
    From: Lori Blair, March 28, 2007
  34. Bursatella leachii from Tampa, Florida
    From: Angie Kuzminski, March 7, 2007
  35. Bursatella leachii in Malaysian shrimp ponds
    From: Huan Ung, February 28, 2007
  36. Bursatella leachii from the Gulf coast of Florida
    From: Sonnia Smith, January 24, 2007
  37. Bursatella leachii from New South Wales
    From: Keith Suddaby, January 16, 2007
  38. Bursatella leachii subspecies
    From: Augusto Medeiros, January 12, 2007
  39. Re: Opisthobranch ova & capsules
    From: Tony Fernando, November 16, 2006
  40. Ragged Sea Hares on the beach
    From: Cathy Zollo, August 28, 2006
  41. Bursatella leachii from Guajira, Colombia
    From: Adriana Aguirre, March 13, 2006
  42. Bursatella leachii from Queensland
    From: Alison Miller, March 7, 2006
  43. Is the genus Barnardaclesia valid?
    From: Carlo Magenta Cunha, February 2, 2006
  44. Bursatella leachii from Gulf coast, Florida
    From: Bryan Wanderlingh, August 30, 2005
  45. Bursatella leachii aggregation in Trinidad, West Indies
    From: Sherri Deaver, August 25, 2005
  46. Bursatella leachii from Florida
    From: Bryan Wanderlingh, August 15, 2005
  47. Bursatella leachii from Western Australia
    From: Melvyn Lintern, July 11, 2005
  48. Re: Albino form of Bursatella leachii
    From: Dong Bum Koh, May 31, 2005
  49. Another Bursatella leachii with eggs
    From: Dong Bum Koh, May 31, 2005
  50. Albino form of Bursatella leachii
    From: Dong Bum Koh, May 27, 2005
  51. Bursatella leachii - another colour form
    From: Dong Bum Koh, May 27, 2005
  52. Bursatella leachii - an aquarium tale
    From: Lori Doyle, May 12, 2005
  53. Bursatella leachii from Brazil
    From: Vinicius Padula, February 16, 2005
  54. Bursatella leachii? from Venezuela
    From: Sylvia Grune, February 10, 2004
  55. Bursatella leachii from Florida
    From: Justin D, January 25, 2004
  56. Bursatella leachii from Turkey
    From: Umut Tural, January 13, 2004
  57. Bursatella leachii defense
    From: Brian, December 5, 2003
  58. Re: Bursatella leachii from Madagascar
    From: Franck Ducharne, August 21, 2003
  59. Bursatella leachii from Madagascar
    From: Franck Ducharne, August 18, 2003
  60. Bursatella leachii from Tunisia
    From: Anis, April 30, 2003
  61. Bursatella leachii from Croatia
    From: Adam Petrusek, April 10, 2003
  62. Bursatella leachii from Florida
    From: Linda Ianniello, March 3, 2003
  63. Bursatella leachii from Florida - egg mass
    From: Linda Ianniello , March 3, 2003
  64. Bursatella leachii question
    From: Cheri , February 12, 2003
  65. Bursatella leachii from Chek Jawa, Singapore
    From: Ria Tan, January 31, 2003
  66. Bursatella leachii? from Florida
    From: Jeremy Catches, September 12, 2002
  67. Re: Bursatella? from Florida
    From: Jan Clark, August 16, 2002
  68. Bursatella leachii from eastern Australia
    From: John Pogonoski, August 15, 2002
  69. Bursatella? from Florida
    From: Jan Clark, August 15, 2002
  70. 'shaggy dog' slug from Queensland
    From: Caroline Deane-Caleffi, June 20, 2002
  71. Estuarine Aplysiids in eastern Australia
    From: Rachel Przeslawski, May 3, 2002
  72. Re: Bursatella from New South Wales
    From: Ian Mackey, March 30, 2002
  73. Sea Slug? from Saratoga Bay NSW
    From: Ian Mackey, March 25, 2002
  74. Seahare bloom in Coffs Harbour marina, NSW
    From: Hamish Malcolm, November 29, 2001
  75. Bursatella leachii in New Zealand
    From: John Buckeridge, October 22, 2001
  76. Bursatella leachii - AP Biology exam
    From: Stacy B., September 26, 2001
  77. thank you!
    From: JJ, August 25, 2001
  78. Bursatella leachii from Colombia
    From: Elianny Domínguez, May 30, 2001
  79. Help on Bursatella
    From: Josephine, April 12, 2001
  80. Bursatella leachii - behaviour
    From: James, March 11, 2001
  81. Sea Hare deaths in Florida continue
    From: Dana Mueller , March 9, 2001
  82. Re: Sea Hares in Florida
    From: Dana Mueller, February 28, 2001
  83. Sea Hares in Florida (1)
    From: Dana Mueller, February 27, 2001
  84. Bursatella leachi plei in the Intertidal Zone?
    From: Randi Bambach, October 19, 2000
  85. I need information on Bursatella leachii
    From: Sarah Dacres, September 3, 2000
  86. Re: Bursatella from Florida
    From: Douglas Anderson, August 5, 2000
  87. Sea Slug/Nudibranch? from Florida
    From: Douglas Anderson, July 31, 2000
  88. Re: Bursatella leachii & sewage
    From: Richard Willan , May 30, 2000
  89. Re: Sea Hares & sewage in Auckland, NZ
    From: John Buckeridge, May 27, 2000
  90. Re: Sea Hares & sewage in Auckland, NZ
    From: Joel Cayford, May 27, 2000
  91. Sea Hare that lives on sewage?
    From: Amelia Wong, May 24, 2000
  92. Sea Hares at North Shore City, New Zealand
    From: Joel Cayford, May 16, 2000
  93. Question about Bursatella leachii
    From: Emily Driesman, May 11, 2000
  94. Frilled Sea Hare in Florida
    From: Michelle van Deventer, February 28, 2000
  95. Bursatella from Colombia
    From: Phanor Montoya, February 16, 2000
  96. Information on Bursatella leachii
    From: Dana Rygwelski, September 28, 1999
  97. What shall we feed our dear little sea hare?
    From: Maggie Berry, August 28, 1999
  98. Sea Slugs from Biscayne Bay, Florida
    From: Luis, April 5, 1999
  99. Re: Spatial Distribution of Bursatella leachii
    From: Clare Kennedy, February 4, 1999
  100. Spatial Distribution of Bursatella leachii
    From: Ment Nguyen, January 23, 1999
  101. Re: nudibranch in my aquarium
    From: Rob See, January 8, 1999
  102. Re: Re: nudibranch in my aquarium
    From: Rob See, January 8, 1999
  103. Re: Bursatella in prawn ponds
    From: Tom Capo , December 8, 1998
  104. Re: Bursatella in prawn ponds
    From: Doug Pearson, December 7, 1998
  105. Bursatella leachii in prawn ponds
    From: Doug Pearson, December 6, 1998

Show factsheet and all related messages