Current Biology

Magazine

Quick guide few species also eat other nudibranchs. diverse biological activities, such as
In contrast, solar-powered nudibranchs antimalarial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory
Nudibranchs acquire nutrients from symbiotic
zooxanthellae, which they acquire directly
and antimicrobial properties. For
example, the drug Zalypsis exhibits
from their diet of hard or soft corals. high antitumour activity in cells of
Karen L. Cheney1,2 Many species have evolved ways of breast, prostate and renal cancers and
and Nerida G. Wilson2,3 ‘farming’ these zooxanthellae, and often was derived from a compound found
house them in specialised ducts of their in the nudibranch Jorunna funebris.
What are nudibranchs? Also known digestive gland. For evolutionary questions, secondary
as sea slugs, nudibranchs are soft- metabolites in the Antarctic slug
bodied, often colourful, marine snails How do they defend themselves? species-complex Doris kerguelenensis
that lack a shell. Nudibranchs — the Without a shell for physical protection, correlate significantly with cryptic species
name is derived from ‘naked gills’ in nudibranchs use many methods to identified by DNA data. This suggests
Latin and Greek — comprise over 3000 stay safe. Simple adaptations include that selection on chemical defenses
species that inhabit a very wide range of reinforcing their soft tissue with spicules is involved in driving speciation in this
environments from shallow temperate or toughened skin. Many species use group.
and tropical reefs, to Antarctica and even chemicals obtained from their diet and
hydrothermal vents. Nudibranchs form an stored in outer body parts as defenses Are all nudibranchs colourful? Many
order within the Heterobranchia, a major against potential predators. Species from nudibranchs are known for the bright
lineage of snails (gastropods), which also the genus Chromodoris selectively store colourful patterns displayed to warn
includes land snails. All nudibranchs are one very toxic compound in their mantle predators of their chemical defences
obligatory cross fertilizing simultaneous rim. In some cases, nudibranchs can also (aposematism). However, other species
hermaphrodites. The smallest are alter defensive compounds to enhance closely match the substrate to avoid
microscopic and the largest can grow to their biological activity, and de novo detection (camouflage). Nudibranchs
over half a metre. biosynthesis of defensive metabolites may hide from predators by matching
has been reported for several species. the colour of their dietary sponge or use
What do they eat? Nudibranchs exploit One of the most intriguing defense disruptive colouration to break up their
a wide range of food sources, including mechanisms is the capture and retention body outline. Some also keep brightly
sponges, soft corals, anemones, of biologically active nematocysts, the coloured parts curled up out of sight, only
ascidians and bryozoans. The diet of stinging cells of cnidarians, such as sea revealing them when threatened to scare
individual species tends to be highly anemones. This unique defense has away predators. In contrast to other
specialised, which is why they don’t evolved multiple times in different animal animals that display warning signals,
make ideal inhabitants of home aquaria. groups, but is most common in aeolid nudibranchs have very simple eyes and
Like other snails and slugs nudibranchs nudibranchs (over 600 species). Once are presumably unable to detect their
use a ‘radula’ to eat their prey. The consumed, nematocysts are transferred own colour patterns. Therefore, their
toothed radula is everted in a buccal to a cnidosac, which are located on the colourful displays only seem to serve as
bulb onto the prey where it rasps off prey tips of long finger-like outgrowths, called warning displays for predators and not as
tissue that is drawn into an alimentary cerata. In fact, nudibranch defenses are signals to each other during interactions,
canal for digestion. Some nudibranchs so good that we actually know little about such as courtship.
no longer use a radula and instead suck their predators.
out prey after first pre-digesting its tissue What else is weird and wonderful
with injected enzymes. Carnivorous Why are their chemical defences so about nudibranchs? Some species,
Melibe species have modified their heads interesting? The chemical diversity in such as the Spanish dancer,
to make a large hood, which they use to nudibranchs is extensive and many novel Hexabranchus sanguineus, can swim,
capture mainly crustaceans (Figure 1). A compounds have been discovered with either by flexing their bodies from side

Figure 1. Diversity of nudibranchs.

From left to right: Goniobranchus splendidus, Chromodoris annae, Flabellina rubrolineata (with eggs visible on the underside of the nudibranch), and
the large expandable feeding hood of Melibe leonina. (Photos: Jens Tröger and Eva McClure.)

R4 Current Biology 28, R1–R16, January 8, 2018 © 2017 Elsevier Ltd.

Current Biology

Magazine

to side or by creating dorsal and ventral Book review

undulating motions. The highland dancer,
Pleurobranchus membranaceus, can
even swim upside down. Intriguingly,
Making the most
the neural circuitry for swimming can important decision
be quite different, but result in the same
swimming behaviour, or be the same, David J. Hosken
but result in different behaviours. Another
species of nudibranch, Chromodoris Mate Choice: The Evolution of Sexual
reticulata, has the only known disposable Decision Making from Microbes to
penis in the animal kingdom. This species Humans
sheds its penis after each copulation Gil G. Rosenthal
and can replenish the organ rapidly (Princeton University Press, Princeton,
by extruding more of the internally NJ; 2017)
compressed organ and copulate again ISBN: 978-0-691-15067-3
within 24 hours. The only known species
of nudibranch to display parental care is The study of sexual selection has
the aeolid Pteraeolidia ianthina. Adults gone from a rather niche affair 40
encircle newly-laid egg masses and years ago to a major branch of
may guard singly or in groups. This biological enquiry today, and one that
extraordinary behaviour presumably is central to much of modern biology.
could evolve as the adults get nutrition Driven by mate choice and mate
from a dinoflagellate symbiont, and thus competition, sexual selection speaks
don’t need to move away from the eggs to everything from biodiversity and
to feed. speciation, to molecular evolution of choice/preference, and finally to the
and the problem of maintaining origin, evolution and consequences
Where can I find out more? genetic variation. However, while of choice. There is also a short
Behrens, D.W. (2005). Nudibranch Behaviour. New competition for mates — typically chapter on human mate choice, which
World Publications Inc., FL, USA.
Cheney, K.L., White, W., Mudianta, I.W., overt male–male competition — is covers a range of topics (including
Winters, A.E., Quezada, M., Mollo, E., and reasonably well understood, mate nettle fetishes!), but I think it missed
Garson, M.J. (2016). Choose your weaponry:
selective storage of a single highly toxic choice itself remains more enigmatic. a possibly interesting point: human
compound, latrunculin-A, by closely related This is despite the fact that much effective population sizes are small [1]
nudibranch molluscs. PLoS One 11, 1–16. http:// of the theory underpinning our and hence drift alone could account
dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145134
Cimino, G., Fontana, A., Cutignano, A., and understanding of mate choice had for some variation in preference
Gavagnin, M. (2004). Biosynthesis in been developed by the late 2000s. across our species, at least initially.
opisthobranch molluscs: General outline in
the light of recent use of stable isotopes. The study of mate choice is difficult, Importantly, the book is full of
Phytochem. Rev. 3, 285–307. can proceed across a broad range of pragmatic advice — explicit and
Goodheart, J.A., and Bely, A.E. (2016). Sequestration largely disconnected research fields implied. This includes insights such
of nematocysts by divergent cnidarian
predators: mechanism, function, and evolution. and tends to occur in taxon-specific as traits being deemed attractive
Invertebr. Biol. 136, 75–91. pockets. This is why Rosenthal’s only if they elicit a positive response
Rose, R.A., and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1982). A brood-
protecting nudibranch with pelagic lecithotrophic book on mate choice is so timely and (preference) from the chooser, and
development. J. Molluscan Stud. 48, 231–232. important, and in his words “mate preferences only having meaning
Sekizawa, A., Seki, S., Tokuzato, M., Shiga, S., and choice as a phenotype is inherently when expressed as choice, both of
Nakashima, Y. (2013). Disposable penis and its
replenishment in a simultaneous hermaphrodite. slippery … contingent on the stimulus which speak to empiricists like me
Biol. Lett. 9, p.20121150. presented, and can only be measured trying to come to grips with choice
Wilson, N.G., Maschek, J.A., and Baker, B.J. (2013).
A species flock driven by predation? Secondary
indirectly.” I think that sums it up and preference. This also exposes
metabolites support diversification of slugs in nicely: basically, studying mate choice the intimately linked nature of
Antarctica. PLoS One 8, e80277: http://dx.doi. is tricky. attractiveness and preference: one
org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080277.
Winters, A.E., Green, N.F., Wilson, N.G., How, M.J., So to the book. I first have to say cannot really deem what is attractive
Garson, M.J., N. Justin Marshall, N.J., and how in awe I am of the breadth of without including preference/choice,
Cheney, K.L. (2017). Stabilizing selection on information Rosenthal has mastered and preference cannot be understood
individual pattern elements of aposematic
signals. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 284 (1861): and mustered. The book is truly without including attractiveness/non-
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0926. encyclopedic, so well done sir. It attractiveness. They are two sides of
is also well structured, thought- the same coin and hence experiments
1
School of Biological Sciences, The University provoking and my copy is already designed to measure one are also
of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4069, Australia. littered with footnotes and scribbles. telling us something about the other.
2
Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew St, It moves from introducing mate Some of the sections that especially
Welshpool, WA 6106, Australia. 3School of
choice and preference, through appealed to my prejudices related to
Biological Sciences, University of Western
Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. sensory systems and cognition, to preference functions, integration rules
E-mail: [email protected] (K.L.C), mate sampling and rules of mate of preferences and mate sampling.
[email protected] (N.G.W.) choice, to variation and the genetics These are all areas where — outside

Current Biology 28, R1–R16, January 8, 2018 © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. R5