Category Archives: Current projects

Door #2: The Leaf Sheep Sea Slug

Costasiella (Pruvot-Fol, 1951) or Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs recently gained a lot of attention online, due to many of the species resembling cute green cartoon sheep, but there is much more to them than just their cute appearances.

Regular sheep vs Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs (ill: T.R. Oskars)

Regular sheep vs Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs (ill: T.R. Oskars)

Within Heterobranchia (sea slugs and land snails) they fall within the Saccoglossa, or sap sucking sea slugs, which feed by sucking out the cell contents of algae. Some of the species within this group simply digest the entire cell straight away, whereas some have the unique ability to retain some of the cellular components from the algae in a functional state within their body, a process called kleptoplasty (plastid stealing).

Costasiella is one of these plastid thieves, who retain the chloroplasts of the algae and can use them to fix carbon trough photosynthesis, an ability that is unique for saccoglossans amongst animals, leading to the often being referred to as “crawling leafs”. The plastids can aid the slug to survive for extended periods without food, and even if the slugs are thought to benefit from the products of the plastids, in dark conditions they also seems to work just as well as emergency rations, making even the main role of the plastids questionable. In addition precisely how these slugs can retain the functional chloroplasts in their body is still unknown; however the leading theory was for a long time that Costasiella also stole genes for managing the plastids from the cell nucleus of the algae (horizontal gene transfer). Such genes have however not yet been found in the genome of Costasiella, but has been found in its saccoglossan cousin Elysia chlorotica who can in addition pass these genes on to their offspring. The chloroplasts are however not inherited by the next generation of Costasiella or E. chlorotica, so the young have to go out and find their own before they can be true “crawling leafs”. In addition to being cute ambassadors of slimy slugs, Costasiella is also a little mystery.

Suggested reading:

Christa, G., Gould, S. B., Franken, J., Vleugels, M., Karmeinski, D., Händeler, K., … & Wägele, H. (2014). Functional kleptoplasty in a limapontioidean genus: phylogeny, food preferences and photosynthesis in Costasiella, with a focus on C. ocellifera (Gastropoda: Sacoglossa). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 80(5), 499-507.

Christa, G., de Vries, J., Jahns, P., & Gould, S. B. (2014). Switching off photosynthesis: the dark side of sacoglossan slugs. Communicative & integrative biology, 7(1), 20132493-3.

Schwartz, J. A., Curtis, N. E., & Pierce, S. K. (2014). FISH labeling reveals a horizontally transferred algal (Vaucheria litorea) nuclear gene on a sea slug (Elysia chlorotica) chromosome. The Biological Bulletin, 227(3), 300-312.

de Vries, J., Christa, G., & Gould, S. B. (2014). Plastid survival in the cytosol of animal cells. Trends in plant science, 19(6), 347-350.

de Vries, J., Rauch, C., Christa, G., & Gould, S. B. (2014). A sea slug’s guide to plastid symbiosis. Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 83(4)

-Trond

Door #1: A day at sea

Welcome to our marine invertebrates December calendar! In Norway it is very common for children to have a Advent calendar of some sort to help shorten the wait towards Christmas.

We’ve decided to run with the idea here on the blog, giving you a tidbit about our work every day from December 1st to 24th.

We hope you’ll join us on our little venture – we can guarantee a varied selection of topics!

All the posts will be gathered under the Category 2015 December calendar

First out is a tale of sampling in the sleet…!

The scientific collections are the backbone of all the research performed at the University Museum – as it is at any museum. They hold treasures collected through the entire lifetime of a museum, and most times a collection was the reason for the establishment of a proper museum. The University Museum of Bergen is one of the oldest natural history collections in Norway, and we have grand collections.

But a collection needs to live – to be added to and to be used of – and this was the reason that bright and early Monday morning Katrine and Anne Helene were ready to go to sea. Our goal was to make a jumpstart at Anne Helenes new project about Amphipods (more about that in a later blog), and to take a grab (or two) of sandy seafloor to look for bristle worms (Polychaeta).

It is always a risk planning on a cruise in the very end of November, but this time the weather was on our side. Our plan – “go out and grab animals, sandy bottom is nice” – was cooked up in the spur of the moment  when we got an offer for boat time late Friday afternoon (someone else had to change their plans in the last minute), and maybe that was why everything went so smoothly? Going out collecting benthic animals (those that live on the seafloor) is one of our favourite things, and so we didn’t need much prodding.

The grab and sledge performed beautifully, and now is the time for sorting and photographing live animals before adding them to the collection. Be sure to follow their story through later blogs – they will show up in the categories NorAmph and NorBOL, and maybe somewhere else as well?

 Katrine and Anne Helene

Make sure to check back tomorrow to see what is behind Door #2…!

Guest Researchers: São

IMGP0472The invertebrate collections are high in demand these days, and we have a string of visitors coming here to examine the material. One of these is São from the University of Aveiro, Portugal. She works with polychaetes in the family Nephtyidae. In her own words:

18-23 October – After an amazingly (for Bergen ☺) sunny Sunday, with a wonderful walk through the mountain, I had a very productive week looking through nephtyids from Western Africa. More than 300 specimens were examined and ascribed to 13 putative species. The results were very exiting! Interesting distribution patterns and a couple of potentially new species for science. Now we are waiting for barcodes…

Greeting from the Faunistics course!

Todays cutest catch - he's a Rossia cephalopod

Today’s cutest catch – he’s a Rossia cephalopod

 

I’ve spent both last week and the current one at the UiB field station – Espegrend – together with an enthusiastic bunch of marine biology master students and their teachers.

Espegrend

Espegrend

I am mainly here to collect animals for NorBOL, but it’s hard to resist the temptation to join in on the course itself every now and again – whether in the field or in the lab!

Lots and lots of litterature

Lots and lots of litterature

 

The baseline for the course is that the students will get to look at all sorts of freshly collected animals from various habitats and learn to identify them.IMGP0626

Kelp tank

Kelp tank

Identified samples - at the end of each day, the students present the animals that they have studied that day to their classmates.

Identified samples – at the end of each day, the students present the animals that they have studied that day to their classmates.

Whilst doing so, they acquaint themselves with the different keys and terminology used to identify the critters, learn which species are associated with which habitats, and get practical experience of how to collect and treat samples of various kind (you would for example use a different kind of gear to collect on a muddy substrate than on a rocky slope).

So it is a busy couple of weeks, with lots to learn.

Work on deck

Work on deck

IMGP0667

Sponge-ID

First day in the field, Henrik is demonstrating

First day in the field, Henrik is demonstrating

Incoming sample!

Incoming sample!

Tomorrow is the final day of collecting (it will be “parasite day”, which means a trawl to collect fish and various other animals likely to have parasites on (or in!) them.

Today we have focused on sponges, yesterday it was zooplankton, Monday was polychaetes – and so it goes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the animals that we have been working on:

 

The weather last week was…interesting, as was the absolute downpour a student and I went out in Monday morning – but today was simply a beautiful day for field work!

Stormy weather! Thankfully it passed after the first week.

Stormy weather! Thankfully it passed after the first week. The map is from the really cool page earth.nullschool.net

Much, much nicer weather

Much, much nicer weather

As well as (re)presenting the Museum (yes, we do other things than the exhibitions, and ye-ees, we are interested in new students!), I gave a presentation of NorBOL and the work we are doing on marine animals last week (so far it is only animals, we will start with the marine macro algae the coming spring).  I have been collecting quite a few new species that are to be barcoded from what the students work on, as well as supplementing what we have. In addition I will bring back some nice (but so far unidentified) samples to the Museum that we will continue to work on.

And who knows – maybe I have recruited some future collaborators?

The 14th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium

  • IMG_9001

 

  • 5 days
  •  ~200 talks
  • ~240 posters
  • 35 nationalities
  • 360 enthusiastic participants
  • Immeasurable cups of coffee & lots of pastries

 

 

The 14th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium was arranged in Aveiro, Portugal between 31st of August and 4th of September, and these happy people were amongst the participants.

The Norwegian University/museum entourage came from the Biological Institute (9),                  the University Museum (4), and the NTNU University Museum (1).

AveiroDSBS2015_PT-5749

The topics of the conference was divided into seven main themes:

  1. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
  2. Advances in taxonomy and phylogeny
  3. Autoecology
  4. Connectivity and biogeography
  5. Evolutionary history and fossil records
  6. Natural and anthropogenic disturbance
  7. Stewardship of our deep oceans (DOSI)

(more details about the themes can be found here)

Our contributions ranged from sponges to fish, and included both talks and posters.

In no particular order (UM people in bold):

Bilder Aveiro
Talks:

Eilertsen MH, Kongsrud JA, Rapp HT – Evolutionary history of Ampharetinae (Ampharetidae, Annelida) adapted to chemosynthetic ecosystems

Hestetun JT, Vacelet J, Boury-Esnault N et al – Phylogenetic relationships of carnivorous sponges

Rees DJ, Byrkjedal I, Sutton TT – Pruning the pearlsides: reconciling morphology and molecules in mesopelagic fishes (Maurolicus: Sternoptychidae)

Bakken T, Oug E, Kongsrud JA, Alvestad T, Kongshavn, K – Polychaetous annelids in the deep Nordic Seas: strong bathymetric gradients, low deep-sea diversity and underdeveloped taxonomy

Xavier JR, Marco J, Rapp HT, Davies AJ – Predicting suitable habitat for the bird’s nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri (Porifera, Hexactinellida) in the Northeast Atlantic

DSC_1063

Posters:

Kongshavn K, Kongsrud JA, Tandberg AHS, Alvestad, T, Bakken, T, Oug, E, Willassen E – Intergrating DNA-barcoding and morphology to study marine invertebrates – Exploring biodiversity and biogeography of deep-sea polychaetes in the Norwegian Sea

Hestetun JT, Xavier JR, Rapp HT – Carnivorous sponges from the Southwestern Indian Ocean Ridge seamounts

Alvizu A, Tendal OS, Rapp HT – Deep-water calcareous sponges (Calcarea: Porifera) from the Norwegian, Greenland and Iceland Seas (GIN) – from abyssal plains to mid-ocean ridges and hydrothermal vents

(Xavier JR), Pereira R, Gomes Pereira JN, Tempera F et al – Sponge assemblages of the Condor seamount (Azores) characterized from underwater imagery

Olsen BR, Troedsson C, Hadziavdic K et al – The influence of hydrothermal fluids on pelagic eukaryotic microorganism diversity and subsequent prey selection in a pelagic amphipod in the Nordic Seas

Bilder Aveiro1

In addition to these direct contributions, it was very gratifying to see our friends and colleagues presents results that were in part based on University Museum assistance, whether through participation on cruises with us, loans of material, visits to the Museum collections or data made available. Quite a few of our photos also found their way into presentations, which is always fun!

[slideshow_deploy id=’1240′]

 

It was a busy week with a lot of information to absorb and a lot of old and new acquaintances and friends to talk to. We used this opportunity to spread the word about our current projects, and especially to discuss the challenges and potential of barcoding marine invertebrates.

We are very grateful to the organizing committee for taking on the herculean task of setting up such a wonderful symposium!

Obrigada/o!

Photo by @tangerina_ (Twitter)

Photo by @tangerina_ (Twitter)

Bubble snails in “Species online”

The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative has an ongoing effort to present species in a scientific but user friendly context in their concept “Species online”. Yesterday the first marine group of animals was released, the Cephalaspidean gastropods. These pretty creatures are also known as “bubble snails”. This is the work of the malacologists at the University Museum of Bergen, go and have a look! 

arter på nett_boble

Publications

Scientific publications: From leather bound tomes to printouts, taxonomic keys in frequent use, presentations and posters

Scientific publications: From leather bound tomes to printouts, taxonomic keys in frequent use, presentations and posters

We’ve compiled a list of recent (2013-present) publications by employees at the Invertebrate collections, and you can find it here  (and as a tab at the top of the page)

Uncovering the origin of species in the Caribbean region – fieldwork in the Florida Keys

The lab building at Mote (summerland Key)

The lab building at Mote (summerland Key)

The tropical western Atlantic and in particular the Caribbean is the second most diverse marine region in the World only outnumbered in species by the Indo-West Pacific. The processes that lead to this richness are not fully understood, but the diversity of habitats, the network of islands and cays, the uplift of the Isthmus of Panama, and the various periods of transient allopatry caused by sea level changes during the Plio-Pleistocene epochs have most likely played a role.

The canal just off the Mote Lab

The canal just off the Mote Lab

Anne's beach (Islamorada); a sandy flat with patches of seagrass and coral

Anne’s beach (Islamorada); a sandy flat with patches of seagrass and coral

A mooring area with lined by mangroves with the bottom covered by seagrass and algae (Key Largo)

A mooring area with lined by mangroves with the bottom covered by seagrass and algae (Key Largo)

Mangroves at Summerland Key

Mangroves at Summerland Key

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). An endemic subspecies of the American white-tailed deer

A Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). An endemic subspecies of the American white-tailed deer

The iguana is an exotic species very common in the Keys

The iguana is an exotic species very common in the Keys

Pelicans, a daily presence in the Keys

Pelicans, a daily presence in the Keys

At the Section for Natural History at the University Museum of Bergen we are investigating the causes and timing of marine diversification in the Caribbean using as model a cryptic species complex of a gastropod (the Bulla occidentalis species-complex). This project led us previously to sample in places like Brazil, Venezuela, Guadeloupe, Panama, the Bahamas, and Bermuda and benefited from samples from many other places collected and kindly provided by several colleagues.

The Most Wanted! Bulla occidentalis (Key Largo)

The Most Wanted! Bulla occidentalis (Key Largo)

At night sorting through the daily catch

At night sorting through the daily catch

A preliminary molecular phylogenetic analysis of the data have yielded intriguing results with specimens from the Florida Keys depicting an unexpected level of isolation hardly sharing any haplotypes with “conspecifics” from close by neighboring areas like the Florida Peninsula and Cuba. Nevertheless, the reduced number of specimens that we had available from the Florida Keys hampered any sound testing of this trend. Therefore, a fieldtrip to the Keys was organized between the 7–16 January 2015 in order to collect additional specimens from the local representative of the Bulla occidentalis species-complex.

Spurilla braziliana (Key Largo)

Spurilla braziliana (Key Largo)

Phylaplysia engeli blending with its preferred habitat - seagrass leaves

Phylaplysia engeli blending with its preferred habitat – seagrass leaves

Hermaea cruciata (Key Largo)

Hermaea cruciata (Key Largo)

Haminoea sp. (Key Largo)

Haminoea sp. (Key Largo)

The Florida Keys are an arc-shaped coral archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The Keys form the southernmost portion of the continental United States; they begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 24 km south of Miami, and extend in a arc to Key West, the southernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas, just 140 km from Cuba.

The base for the all operation was set at Mote Marine Tropical Laboratory in Summerland Key near the southern tip of the Keys. Pleasant accommodation with sea views, a lab equipped with microscopes and seawater on the tap, plus my little red Mazda rented at the Miami airport (by the way… for a week it became the smallest car to ride the roads of the Keys!) were the ingredients to what turn into a very successful fieldtrip.

The Keys stretch over 150 km and a great amount of time was spent finding and exploring good sampling sites. Those varied from mangrove areas with seagrass beds, sandy beaches with patches of seagrass and clumps of coral, to areas densely vegetated by mangroves, algae and seagrass. At the end two populations of Bulla occidentalis were found plus many other spectacular sea slugs. This material is now housed in our systematic collections and will help unraveling the “entrails” that underlie marine speciation and biogeography in the tropical western Atlantic.

 

 

Haminoea antillarum (Key Largo)

Haminoea antillarum (Key Largo)

Elysia subornata (Key Largo)

Elysia subornata (Key Largo)

Elysia papillosa (Key Largo)

Elysia papillosa (Key Largo)

Elysia crispata (Key Largo)

Elysia crispata (Key Largo)

Elysia cornigera (Key Largo)

Elysia cornigera (Key Largo)

Dondice occidentalis (Key Largo)

Dondice occidentalis (Key Largo)

Cratena cf. piuatensis (Key Largo)

Cratena cf. piuatensis (Key Largo)

Costasiella ocellifera (Key Largo)

Costasiella ocellifera (Key Largo)

Chelidonura berolina (Key Largo)

Chelidonura berolina (Key Largo)

A red form of ?Dondice occidentalis (Key Largo)

A red form of ?Dondice occidentalis (Key Largo)

A new polychaete species!

Meet Ampharete undecima, a new species of polychaete (bristle worm) that we recently described:

One of the tools used when describing a new species is the electron microscope, which allows us to take very detailed photographs of the animals. Photo: K. Kongshavn

One of the tools used when describing a new species is the electron microscope, which allows us to take very detailed photographs of the animals. Photo: K. Kongshavn

The sites where the species has been found

The sites where the species has been found

 

The species has been decribed based on material collected by the University of Bergen in the Nordic Seas in the 80s, and from samples collected by MAREANO in more recent years. It occurs in deep waters between 600 and 1650 meters depth, and has a broad distribution. The type specimen of the species is from a location that MAREANO sampled in 2009.

Alvestad T., Kongsrud J.A., and Kongshavn , K. (2014) Ampharete undecima, a new deep-sea ampharetid (Annelida, Polychaeta) from the Norwegian Sea . Memoirs of Museum Victoria 71:11-19 Open Access.