Biology 1002B Lecture : Lecture 1 notes
Document Summary
Brown when young, feeds on algae vaucheria litorea at first meal, sucks an algal filament (cell) into itself like a straw, everything except chloroplasts digested, adults appear green, chloroplasts provide all food energy for elysia now, Gains organic matter (carbon based food) and energy (glucose) Takes reduced organic molecules and uses energy from their breakdown. Ex: photo-autotroph uses light to take inorganic co2 to make organic compounds. Isolated chloroplasts (or in sea slug) have only two membranes. Measure also in other related slugs that exhibit kleptoplasty. Elysia is able to retain functioning chloroplasts for a long time (better than similar species) Obligate relationship between elysia chlorotica and vaucheria litorea. It cannot survive without it, cannot eat on its own after juvenile. Elysia is a hermaphrodite (male and female parts) Does not mate with self, needs a partner. Form a virus complex/crystal or billions of viruses.