Polycera capensis laying eggs
March 26, 2003
From: Leanne & David Atkinson
Dear Bill,
We've been reading some old discussion about Polycera capensis on the Forum. Until then we'd assumed it was a "native" of Port Stephens since it occurs in all the major harbour dive sites; Halifax Park, Little Beach, Fly Point and The Pipeline/Fisherman's Co-Op. Soft Corals. I've (Leanne) been photographing it there since 1985. It is relatively common there in the summer months even in the October 2001 to April 2002 season that was very poor for nudibranchs. We've sent this photo since although you had Polycera capensis eggs on the site you didn't have one actually laying them.
Location: Fly Point, Port Stephens, N.S.W. Eastern Australia
Depth: 14m
Date: 9th October 2002
Daytime on the high tide
Leanne & David Atkinson
atk@hunterlink.net.au
Atkinson, L & D., 2003 (Mar 26) Polycera capensis laying eggs. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9425Thanks Leanne & David,
The presence of these animals which feed on 'ephemeral' bryozoan colonies, is highly dependent on the presence of the bryozoan. So a semi-permanent population of P. capensis in Port Stephens is more a measure of the health of the bryozoan populations, than a measure of the origin of P. capensis. I guess there may be a way using DNA to unravel the mystery of whether P. capensis originated at the Cape of Good Hope, or was just first found there. Similar mysteries exist with Polycera hedgepethi and Thecacera pennigera.
The weedy growth it is on is the arborescent bryozoan Bugula dentata, which is its usual food colony. There is a message on the Forum showing it on Bugula with Tambja verconis, which also prefers this bryozoan.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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