Astronomy
Biology & Medicine
Chemistry
Documentaries
Earth Sciences
Humanity
Life On Earth
Mathematics
Physics
Science Fiction
Technology
Biology & Medicine
Chemistry
Documentaries
Earth Sciences
Humanity
Life On Earth
Mathematics
Physics
Science Fiction
Technology
Articles / Medicine and Biology
Bizarre Sea Slug Is Half Plant, Half Animal
Posted by kazchen on October 25, 2010 at 7:45 am | Hits: 3395 | Comments: 0
It looks like any other sea slug, aside from its bright green hue. But the Elysia chlorotica is far from ordinary: it is both a plant and an animal, according to biologists, who have been studying the species for two decades.
Native to the salt marshes of New England and Canada, these sea
slugs use contraband chlorophyll-producing genes and cell parts called
chloroplasts from algae to carry out photosynthesis, says Sidney Pierce,
a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
That genetic material has since been passed down to the next generation, eliminating the need to consume algae for energy.
However, the baby slugs can’t carry out photosynthesis until
they’ve stolen their own chloroplasts, which they aren’t yet able to
produce on their own, from their first and only meal of algae.
"We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce told LiveScience, "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]."
Pierce and his colleagues used a radioactive tracer to ensure that
the slugs are now producing the chlorophyll themselves and not gathering
it from algal contamination in the aquaria.
Crustacean biologist Gary Martin of Occidental College in Los Angeles sums it up in one word: “Bizarre”.
“Steps in evolution can be more creative than I ever imagined,” said Martin.
Source: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/bizarre-sea-slug-is-half-plant-half-animal-0
Comments
There are no comments on this item.
To comment on this item, please login or register.
Drunken Monkeys Raid Resorts, Steal Alcohol (Video)
Drunken Monkeys Raid Resorts, Steal Alcohol (Video)
(These monkeys steal alcohol from people at a tropical resort and get drunk. There are some interesting parallels between drunk monkeys and human under the influence of alcohol.)
Hits: 16465
Rating: 2.79 / 5
Category: Life On Earth
Open Mouthed Boa Constrictor (Image)
(This flash map will show you earthquakes detected recently around the world.)
Posted on April 15, 2013 at 2:25 pm in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 54 Hits.
(The amount of ice melting on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased dramatically in recent decades.)
Posted on April 15, 2013 at 2:16 pm in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 41 Hits.
(Shodan is the world’s first computer search engine that lets you search the Internet for computers. Find devices based on city, country, latitude/longitude, host name, operating system and IP. “Shodan is a search engine for hackers both good and bad. Sho)
Posted on April 9, 2013 at 7:35 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 564 Hits.
(After 17-years living below ground, billions of cicadas belonging to Brood II are beginning to emerge across much of the eastern United States. )
Posted on April 8, 2013 at 5:32 pm in Living World.
0 Comments. 38 Hits.
(By translating shapes into computerized images, this system can turn any surface into a touch-screen.)
Posted on April 1, 2013 at 8:28 am in Technology.
0 Comments. 0 Hits.
(Two forthcoming European Physical Journal D papers challenge established wisdom about the nature of vacuum. )
Posted on March 26, 2013 at 4:55 am in Physics.
0 Comments. 67 Hits.
(New developments in microscopy have allowed researchers to image individual bonds within a molecule — seeing down to the atom scale. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-can-now-see-individual-atoms-2012-9#ixzz2ONqAybqc)
Posted on March 23, 2013 at 10:06 am in Physics.
0 Comments. 87 Hits.
(Mars One co-founder tells CBC about its proposed one-way trip to the Red Planet)
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 12:39 am in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 75 Hits.
(A defense contractor better known for building jet fighters and lethal missiles says it has found a way to slash the amount of energy needed to remove salt from seawater, potentially making it vastly cheaper to produce clean water at a time when scarcity )
Posted on March 17, 2013 at 9:50 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 194 Hits.
(New research suggests it may be possible to learn complex tasks with little to no conscious effort, just like in The Matrix. Whoa, indeed.)
Posted on March 17, 2013 at 6:28 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 114 Hits.
(NASA technicians have just finished the mirror backplate support structure, a folding wing assembly designed with to safely collapse the beryllium mirror during flight, and expand it again in orbit.)
Posted on March 16, 2013 at 2:26 pm in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 348 Hits.
(The new find solves a puzzle about where these big-fanged felines arose)
Posted on March 16, 2013 at 8:36 am in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 128 Hits.
Copyright 2006-2011 Educated Earth