Staging of post-settlement growth in the nudibranch Hypselodoris festiva

Sea slugs of the family Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia, Gastropoda, Mollusca) have garnered attention by researchers and hobbyists alike for their bright and variable color patterns. However, the chromodorid life cycle has yet to be fully elucidated as there exist no reports of their rearing in the laboratory. Here, we report the rearing of Hypselodoris festiva from eggs to adults, where we categorized their post-settlement growth patterns from juvenile to adult stages. Body coloration appeared around 36 days, and organogenesis of vital adult organs began within 42 days after hatching. The anus of H. festiva was observed to change from a ventral to dorsal position during juvenile growth. Individuals reached sexual maturity after six months post-hatching, with successful mating and spawning observed ex situ. This study outlines comprehensive rearing methods and life cycle staging that could be applied to other chromodorid species. We propose H. festiva as a model organism for chromodorid research, with this research contributing to the progress of developmental and evolutionary research on sea slugs.

Ontogeny, Phylotypic Periods, Paedomorphosis, and Ontogenetic Systematics

The key terms linking ontogeny and evolution are briefly reviewed. It is shown that their application and usage in the modern biology are often inconsistent and incorrectly understood even within the “evo-devo” field. For instance, the core modern reformulation that ontogeny not merely recapitulates, but produces phylogeny implies that ontogeny and phylogeny are closely interconnected. However, the vast modern phylogenetic and taxonomic fields largely omit ontogeny as a central concept. Instead, the common “clade-” and “tree-thinking” prevail, despite on the all achievements of the evo-devo. This is because the main conceptual basis of the modern biology is fundamentally ontogeny-free. In another words, in the Haeckel’s pair of “ontogeny and phylogeny,” ontogeny is still just a subsidiary for the evolutionary process (and hence, phylogeny), instead as in reality, its main driving force. The phylotypic periods is another important term of the evo-devo and represent a modern reformulation of Haeckel’s recapitulations and biogenetic law. However, surprisingly, this one of the most important biological evidence, based on the natural ontogenetic grounds, in the phylogenetic field that can be alleged as a “non-evolutionary concept.” All these observations clearly imply that a major revision of the main terms which are associated with the “ontogeny and phylogeny/evolution” field is urgently necessarily. Thus, “ontogenetic” is not just an endless addition to the term “systematics,” but instead a crucial term, without it neither systematics, nor biology have sense. To consistently employ the modern ontogenetic and epigenetic achievements, the concept of ontogenetic systematics is hereby refined. Ontogenetic systematics is not merely a “research program” but a key biological discipline which consistently links the enormous biological diversity with underlying fundamental process of ontogeny at both molecular and morphological levels. The paedomorphosis is another widespread ontogenetic-and-evolutionary process that is significantly underestimated or misinterpreted by the current phylogenetics and taxonomy. The term paedomorphosis is refined, as initially proposed to link ontogeny with evolution, whereas “neoteny” and “progenesis” are originally specific, narrow terms without evolutionary context, and should not be used as synonyms of paedomorphosis. Examples of application of the principles of ontogenetic systematics represented by such disparate animal groups as nudibranch molluscs and ophiuroid echinoderms clearly demonstrate that perseverance of the phylotypic periods is based not only on the classic examples in vertebrates, but it is a universal phenomenon in all organisms, including disparate animal phyla.

FEATURES OF THE BIOLOGY OF THE POLYCHETE <i>FICOPOMATUS ENIGMATICUS</i> (FAUVEL, 1923) FROM MASS SETTLEMENTS IN THE COASTAL WATERS OF THE KERCH STRAIT (BLACK SEA)

In September 2019, the polychaeta (Fauvel, 1923), formerly known as Fauvel, 1923, was found in mass colonial settlements in the coastal waters of the Kerch Strait near the Arshintsevskaya Spit. Some workers believe that the original natural distribution of this polychaeta was in brackish water bodies of India. This species is currently known to be widely distributed along the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and of the North, Mediterranean, and Caspian Seas. Only a few isolated individuals of have been found so far along the Crimean coast of the Black Sea, in the coastal zone of Sebastopol and along the Karadag shores. The colonies described in this study do not constitute reef structures yet but have already reached high population numbers. The colony have a diameter of 46 cm and comprise 1774 individuals. The settlements of are true populations represented by individuals of different sizes ranging in length from 2 to 39 mm. The populations include both males and females: males comprise 56% and females 44% of the population. The fecundity of the worms expressed as the number of mature eggs per female depends on the body size and ranges from 5800 eggs for the body size of 12 mm to 24820 eggs for the body size of 29 mm. The present study described the morphology of using scanning electron microscopy and identified numerous sensory structures on the surface of the body, gills and the pygidium for the first time. Judging from the presence of a mass settlement of the polychaeta in the coastal waters of the Kerch Strait, it can be presumed that this species has become completely naturalized in the Black Sea. Since this species is eurybiontic, it can be assumed that it will invade the Sea of Azov and adjacent estuaries, river deltas and coastal lakes successfully, which will have an inevitable effect on the life of the local species and the ecosystems in general.

Functional morphology and post-larval development of the buccal complex in Eubranchus rupium (Nudibranchia: Aeolidida: Fionidae)

Nudibranch molluscs represent an interesting model group to study the evolution of feeding apparatus and feeding modes, being characterized by specialized buccal complex in combination with extremely diverse dietary preferences and multiply prey shifts in evolutionary history. However, the plasticity of the buccal complex morphology in response to diet and specific feeding modes remains understudied. Here we study the general morphology and ontogenesis of the buccal complex in Eubranchus rupium (Nudibranchia: Fionidae). Specific goals are to provide a detailed description of buccal structures morphology in post-larval stages, suggest the feeding mechanism and discuss the phylogenetic value of the morphological characteristics of buccal armature within the genus Eubranchus. Methods included in vivo observations of the feeding process for E. rupium, light microscopic methods, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (cLSM). According to our results, E. rupium is a mechanical driller, boring holes in hydrozoan perisarc and sucking internal content. The mechanical drilling is supplied by functionally uniserial radula with plate-like laterals teeth of exclusively supportive function and by massive buccal musculature. Comparative phylogeny-based analysis suggests that the drilling feeding mode is common for the genus Eubranchus and indicates radular characters may have a high phylogenetic signal. The buccal complex morphology and feeding mode were found to be similar in both adults and post-metamorphic specimens, its general structures occur even in settled veligers. Juveniles and adults compete for food source, but the competition is smoothed due to characteristics of prey species growth and life cycle.

Report on the 13th symposium on invertebrate neurobiology held 26-30 August 2015 at the Balaton Limnological Institute, MTA Centre for ecological research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Tihany, Hungary

This report summarizes the lectures and posters presented at the International Society for Invertebrate Neurobiology's 13th symposium held 26-30 August 2015, at the Balaton Limnological Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Tihany, Hungary. The symposium provided an opportunity for scientists working on a range of topics in invertebrate neurobiology to meet and present their research and discuss ways to advance the discipline.