Chelidonura sandrana
Encyclopedia
Chelidonura sandrana is a species
of sea slug
, or "headshield slug", a marine
opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae
.
rate is largely unresponsive to variations in mate availability in this simultaneous hermaphrodite. With mating rates being close to the female fitness
optimum, their findings challenge the prevailing notion of male-driven mating rates in simultaneous hermaphrodites, and call for complementary investigations of mating-rate effects on fitness through the male sexual function.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea slug
Sea slug
Sea slug is a common name used for several different groups of saltwater snails that either lack a shell or have only an internal shell, in other words this name is used for various lineages of marine gastropod mollusks that are either not conchiferous or appear not to be.The phrase "sea slug" is...
, or "headshield slug", a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aglajidae
Aglajidae
Aglajidae is a family of often colorful, medium-sized, sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks. These are not nudibranchs; instead they are headshield slugs, in the clade Cephalaspidea.-Genera:...
.
Ecology
Chelidonura sandrana is a simultaneously hermaphroditic species. Contrary to classic theoretical predictions, Sprenger et al. (2011) have shown for the first time that the matingMating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
rate is largely unresponsive to variations in mate availability in this simultaneous hermaphrodite. With mating rates being close to the female fitness
Fitness (biology)
Fitness is a central idea in evolutionary theory. It can be defined either with respect to a genotype or to a phenotype in a given environment...
optimum, their findings challenge the prevailing notion of male-driven mating rates in simultaneous hermaphrodites, and call for complementary investigations of mating-rate effects on fitness through the male sexual function.
External links
- Anthes N., Putz A. & Michiels N. K. (2006). "Hermaphrodite sex role preferences: the role of partner body size, mating history and female fitness in the sea slug Chelidonura sandrana". Behavioral Ecology and SociobiologyBehavioral Ecology and SociobiologyBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering quantitative, empirical, and theoretical studies in the field of analysis of animal behavior at the levels of the individual, population, and community....
60(3): 359-367. doi:10.1007/s00265-006-0173-5. - Sprenger D., Anthes N. & Michiels N. K. (2008). "Multiple mating affects offspring size in the opisthobranch Chelidonura sandrana". Marine BiologyMarine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
153(5): 891-897. doi:: 10.1007/s00227-007-0861-3.