Presentation Details
Recovery and/or regeneration: Navigation in a nudibranch sea slug after injury

Cheyenne C.Tait, Sandra Gerges.

Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA

Abstract


Nudibranch sea slugs are bright, showy molluscs that can regenerate appendages when lost. However, when danger abounds, including sea anemones, sea spiders, and each other, injury would not be limited to peripheral structures. Invertebrates like planaria can regenerate the central nervous system. With a goal to determine whether the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae regenerates its brain, we removed one pedal (locomotory) ganglion, then tracked recovery. Initially, injured animals did not respond to food. After approximately one week, they showed they could sense it by beginning to move after it was added. However, they moved in circles, as the side of their body ipsilateral to the injury was paralyzed. Between weekly trials, circling began to get them closer to the food, with some successfully eating. Some individuals also showed an idiosyncratic behavior of lifting their anterior half off the substrate to move at sharp angles towards food. Our work reveals highly variable trajectories to recovering food navigation ability. Future experiments include fluorescent immunohistochemistry to uncover neural mechanisms of recovery and regeneration in this sea slug.

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