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| the solar powered nudibranch Photo by Basil Bohn |
A dash of divers descend down to shallow depths – word has
spread that two solar powered nudibranch’s mating have been spotted on the
house reef. Incredible creatures who receive the majority of their energy from
the sun, the solar powered nudibranch harvests zooxanthellae algae from the
soft coral upon which it sometimes feeds. In a fortunate feat of nature, a
symbiotic relationship ensues. The photosynthetic zooxanthellae lives safely in
the Solar Powered’s digestive system, in turn providing its host with energy
from the sun. The long, flat, wide, and translucent leaf like cerata stemming
from the nudibranch’s body are veined with exposed digestive system showing a speckling
of zooxanthellae beneath a thin layer of translucent skin. The exposed
zooxanthellea allow the solar powered nudibranch to receive the energy of the
sun and give the solar powered a resemblance of a living moving flower.
The mating solar powered pair rest in the shadows of a TRACC
built artificial reef (a teepee); reproduction organs planted in each other at opposite ends to form
a circle of gently intertwined bodies in a fanciful mess of softly glowing
cerata. They will stay in this circular act of creation until fertilized,
laying up to 1 million eggs in a rose patterned spiral somewhere along the reef
crest, giving life to a new generation of naturally fantastical creatures.
Nudi = naked, branch = gills, appropriate Latin for
creatures making love in the oceanic sun.
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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +
If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +
Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from
GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.
If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow their projects on Facebook.