Chromodoris kuniei from the Marshall Islands

August 16, 1999
From: Scott Johnson

Hi Bill,

The Marshall Islands should be a range extension for Chromodoris kuniei. I had never found the species here before the fall of 1989. Over the next year, I perhaps 20 specimens, all exposed on the steep western seaward slope of Kwajalein Atoll at depths of 20 meters or more. Then suddenly--no more, except one small specimen found about 3 years ago. This is an area I dive all the time, and it (along with numerous other observations) helps to drive home the idea that populations out there are truly in a constant state of flux. I suspect that chance settling events (perhaps associated with eastward moving water masses that go along with El Nino?) can greatly impact the communities we see.

Scott

johnson@kmr.ll.mit.edu

Johnson, S., 1999 (Aug 16) Chromodoris kuniei from the Marshall Islands. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1194

Dear Scott,
Thanks for the record. I like your idea about the populations being in a state of flux. I was in Tanzania for five and a half years and I was still finding new records every week or so. I guess when we go somwhere with a 'species list' we tend to be disappointed if we can't find at least half of the species on it, forgetting that the list is often the accumulation of many years effort. In Sydney, which is way south of the tropics, we have an excellent intertidal collecting spot called Long Reef, which as its name suggests, juts out into the currents, sampling the larvae in the southward flowing eddies and current. If you looked at a list of the cowries collected from Long Reef you would think it was in the middle of the tropics, but most of the species on the list have only been found once or twice over many years, chance travellers from more tropical waters.

I would suspect that even in the 'lushest' tropical environments only a small proportion of the 'recorded' species will be present at any one time.
Bill Rudman.

1999 (Aug 16). Comment on Chromodoris kuniei from the Marshall Islands by Scott Johnson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1194

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