Meeting Abstract
Nudibranchs encompass over three thousand species around the world, and still counting. One subgroup of nudibranchs is called aeolids: a specialized group of nudibranchs that are capable of stealing nematocysts from their cnidarian prey and using them as part of their own defensive mechanism. Nematocysts are also known as “explosive cells”, a variety of special organelles that are present in cnidarians. The relationship between the nematocysts in nudibranchs and their cnidarian prey remains unclear due to the variation and diversity within nematocysts. Earlier studies also show a discrepancy in the results, warranting a project looking at different species of aeolid nudibranchs and their cnidarian prey. My project focuses on comparing nematocyst content in multiple aeolids and cnidarians along the Californian coast to examine specificity of nematocyst selection and retention within Nudibranchia. Preliminary results show that different aeolid nudibranchs vary in the diversity of nematocysts they retain, and these only represent a subset of nematocysts found in their prey.
