Berghia
Berghia coerulescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Nudipleura
clade Nudibranchia
clade Dexiarchia
clade Cladobranchia

clade Aeolidida
Superfamily:
Aeolidioidea
Family:
Aeolidiidae
Genus:
Berghia

Trinchese, 1877[1]
Type species
Eolidia coerulescens Laurillard, 1830
Synonyms
  • Millereolidia Ortea, Caballer & Espinosa, 2004
  • Milleria Ortea, Caballer & Espinosa, 2003 (preoccupied name)

Berghia is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs. They are shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Aeolidiidae.[2] They are covered in cerata which give them their unique tentacle look and color. Berghia are commonly found in shallow waters and their diet consists of strictly Aiptasia Anemone. This genus is now commonly used commercially to fight off Anemone populations in fish tanks.[3]

Life-History

The validity of the genus Berghia has been contested for years since its discovery in 1877. It has been questioned mostly due to their phenotypic similarities to the genus Spurilla despite having unique colorations.[4] The monophyly of Berghia started to be highly supported after the addition of B. stephanieae and results were starting to show that Spurilla and Berghia were not as closely related as researchers once thought.[5]

Habitat

The genus Berghia is known to be found in warm and temperate waters and is strictly located in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean.[3] The species Berghia verrucicornis has recently been spotted in Brittany which is the northernmost finding for this animal.[6] Their small size allows them to live under rocks and corals in shallow water which gives them a better position to not only hide, but to eat their chosen prey, Aiptasia.[7]

Diet and Fish Tank Applications

Berghia have a strict diet of only Aiptasia anemone. They do however receive short-term sustenance from symbiosis with zooxanthellae which come from their cnidarian prey.[3] These anemones can be found on mangrove roots as well as in rocks and dead corals.[8] They are found in the tropical and temperate waters in the benthic zone and are mostly located in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and in the North Western pacific.[9] Aiptasia have become a common problem in marine tanks due to their spores going undetected in water because it has not been processed correctly. Aiptasia replicate quickly through asexual reproduction and can soon take over any tank.[10] Since Berghia only eat Aiptasia, many tank owners have turned to using this genus commercially to reduce the populations. Berghia are now sold through online sources as a consumer product to manage Aiptasia Anemone outbreaks. Berghia will eat the Anemone starting at the base and then the Aiptasia will start to sink down inside of the hole of the rock they are living on. Berghia will then make their way up to the top and consume the oral disk last.[3] This prevents the anemone from feeling threatened and stinging the Berghia. This genus has special sensory organs called rhinophores that can chemically detect Aiptasia anemones. This is an essential mechanism because it allows them to find these anemones even if they're not easily seen.[11]

Anatomy

The anatomy is similar among all the species in Berghia and most adults will grow to about 25mm.[3] Most researchers cannot tell the difference between species by the anatomy, but have to rely on their differences in color. Among the genus, body shape, oral and salivary glands, tail shape, and rhinophoral papillae have been examined and remain uniform across all species. The morphological variability comes from their radular teeth, ceratal arrangement, and rhinophore ornamentation which make it very difficult to tell them apart.[5] Berghia have dense rhinophores which are long tentacles that function as chemo-receptors to locate food sources that are far away.[12] Berghia species also have papillae and cerata that are rounded on the posterior side that resemble finger-like projections. These cerata are arranged in arches, have a round apex, and are all uniform in diameter. Cerata are specific to Nudibranch's and hold the stinging nematocysts from their prey.[13] Besides defense, cerata also play a part in respiration and digestion.[3] Berghia have oral tentacles that protrude father out than the rhinophores primarily to taste food quality. Right behind the rhinophores are eyes that have very little vision and mostly sense light.[11] Their oral glands are larger, tubular, and composite while their radular teeth are bi-lobed and indented. Compared to other Aeoliids, Berghia have a round apex with longer and slenderer cerata.[5]

Predators

Known predators include shrimp, crabs, and Aiptasia. Night scavenging shrimp are the main predators of Berghia but aggressive crabs will go for these animals as well. If Berghia species are not careful when they approach the Aiptasia anemones, they can be attacked or land on the mouth area which will kill them.[11]

Defense Mechanism

Along the backs of these slugs are cerata which are extensions of the digestive system. These cerata contain cnidosacs at the tip which contain nematocysts that are stored from eating the Aiptasia anemone. When the Berghia ingest the anemone, the immature nematocysts are encased within a phagosome and are allowed to mature in the cnidosacs. When startled or attacked, these organisms can eject stinging cells out of the cerata to hurt and scare off predators. The sting will not be as potent as the anemone, but it will still be painful.[11]

Reproduction

Berghia are hermaphroditic but require another individual to mate and fertilize eggs. They can lay eggs every day as long as conditions are good and they have a large source of food. Juveniles can start laying eggs at 28 days old.[11] These eggs are white and are laid in spiral masses and are referred to as an ‘egg ribbon’.[14] Eggs are mainly laid under a rock or beneath coral. For young slugs, there are normally around 60-80 embryos in each cluster but when they mature, they can lay around 1000 to 2000 embryos in each spiral with strong fertilization rates. Hatching times will vary on the species and water conditions, but is normally around 2 weeks.[11] There is a courtship that takes place between two individuals during mating where the genital openings will align. These openings are located behind the rhinophores and their heads must be close together for the process to work.[3]

Development

Berghia eggs hatch within 2 weeks of fertilization. By the end of the second day after fertilization, their bi-lobed velum is clearly visible and their larval shell starts to appear soon after.[14] When larvae hatch from their eggs, they are free-swimming veliger larvae and are fully metamorphosed. They swim by using the many cilia that are located on their body and soon after hatching, the larvae fall to the bottom. In the process of metamorphosis, Berghia species will shed their shell in about 48 hours’ time. They will soon be able to crawl, their bodies will start to lengthen, and their rhinophores and cerata start to develop Pigmentation follows soon after the organisms start to eat anemones and they harvest the color from their food. The life span for these creatures is around 10 months to a year.[11] The CNS of Berghia verrucicornis has been studied specifically as development occurs. It was found that the cerebral and pleural ganglia fuse to form the prominent cerebropleural ganglia. The rhinophoral ganglia and cerebropleural ganglion develop with a pair of processes extending from each. These processes go to the developing rhinophore and toward the associated structures of the mouth.[15] In a study done on B. stephanieae, it was found that they share post metamorphic condensation of the CNS, rhinophoral ganglia, and a lack of oral tentacle ganglia common to all nudibranchs. However, this species has a specific structure arrangement of their serotonergic apical organ which is similar to their sister groups caenogastropod and opisthobranch.[16]

Species

Species in the genus Berghia include:[2][17]

Species brought into synonymy
  • Berghia chaka Gosliner, 1985: synonym of Baeolidia chaka (Gosliner, 1985)
  • Berghia dela Er. Marcus & Ev. Marcus, 1960: synonym of Baeolidia dela (Er. Marcus & Ev. Marcus, 1960)[17]
  • Berghia modesta Trinchese, 1882: synonym of Berghia coerulescens (Laurillard, 1830)
  • Berghia dakariensis (Pruvot-Fol, 1953): synonym of Berghia benteva (Er. Marcus, 1958)

References

  1. ↑ Trinchese S. 1877. Note zoologiche. 1. Descrizione del genere Rizzolia Trinchese; 2. Descrizione del genere Berghia Trinchese; 3. Caratteri distintivi dei generi Facelina e Acanthopsole. Rendiconto delle Sessioni dell'Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna, anno accademico 1876-77, pp. 147-156.
  2. 1 2 Gofas, S. (2014). Berghia Trinchese, 1877. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2015-02-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Calfo, A (2008). "Aquarium Culture of the Aeolid nudibranch Berghia". ReefKeeping. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  4. ↑ GALIÀ-CAMPS, CARLES; CARMONA, LEILA; CABRITO, ANDREA; BALLESTEROS, MANUEL (2020-04-27). "Double trouble. A cryptic first record of Berghia marinae Carmona, Pola, Gosliner, & Cervera 2014 in the Mediterranean Sea". Mediterranean Marine Science. 21 (1): 191. doi:10.12681/mms.20026. hdl:2445/163707. ISSN 1791-6763.
  5. 1 2 3 Carmona, Leila; Pola, Marta; Gosliner, Terrence M.; Cervera, Juan Lucas (2014-06-07). "The Atlantic-Mediterranean genusBerghiaTrinchese, 1877 (Nudibranchia: Aeolidiidae): taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 80 (5): 482–498. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyu031. ISSN 0260-1230.
  6. ↑ Droual, G., & Bridier, G. (2019). One-step beyond: Northernmost record of Berghia verrucicornis (Costa, 1867). Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guillaume_Bridier
  7. ↑ "Berghia verrucicornis". OPK Opistobranquis. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  8. ↑ Kaplan, E (1982). A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida Including the Bahamas. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
  9. ↑ Animal-World. "Aiptasia Sea Anemone Facts". Animal World. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  10. ↑ Clayton, William S.; Lasker, Howard R. (August 1985). "Individual and population growth in the asexually reproducing anemone Aiptasia pallida Verrill". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 90 (3): 249–258. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(85)90170-4. ISSN 0022-0981.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 SaltyUnderground. "Welcome to Salty Underground!". Salty Underground. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  12. ↑ "Spurilla neapolitana, neapolitan spurilla". www.thecephalopodpage.org. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  13. ↑ Buchheim, Jon (15 January 2019). "It's a tentacular spectacular!". Marine Biology Learning Center. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  14. 1 2 Carroll, D. J.; Kempf, S. C. (1990-12-01). "Laboratory Culture of the Aeolid Nudibranch Berghia verrucicornis (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia): Some Aspects of Its Development and Life History". The Biological Bulletin. 179 (3): 243–253. doi:10.2307/1542315. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1542315. PMID 29314964.
  15. ↑ Carroll, D. J.; Kempf, S. C. (1994-04-01). "Changes Occur in the Central Nervous System of the Nudibranch Berghia verrucicornis (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia) During Metamorphosis". The Biological Bulletin. 186 (2): 202–212. doi:10.2307/1542054. ISSN 0006-3185. JSTOR 1542054. PMID 29281370.
  16. ↑ Kristof, Alen; Klussmann-Kolb, Annette (2010). "Neuromuscular development of Aeolidiella stephanieae Valdez, 2005 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia)". Frontiers in Zoology. 7 (1): 5. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-7-5. ISSN 1742-9994. PMC 2822759. PMID 20205753.
  17. 1 2 Carmona L., Pola M., Gosliner T.M. & Cervera J.L. (2014). The Atlantic-Mediterranean genus Berghia Trinchese, 1877 (Nudibranchia: Aeolidiidae): taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 80(5): 482-498.
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