A single year-round cycle and biology of Dendrodoris temarana Pruvot-Fol, 1953 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia) at Cubelles (NE Spain)
Galía-Camps, C.; Ballesteros, M. (2025). A single year-round cycle and biology of Dendrodoris temarana Pruvot-Fol, 1953 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia) at Cubelles (NE Spain). Mar. Biodiv. 55(4): 1-9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12526-025-01542-z
In: Marine Biodiversity. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 1867-1616; e-ISSN 1867-1624, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Galía-Camps, C.
- Ballesteros, M.
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| Abstract |
Studies of specific populations of nudibranch species are very scarce due to the sporadic appearance of many of the species. However, although it is a seldom scenario, stable nudibranch populations can be established for some species, allowing annual monitoring approaches on them. The nudibranch Dendrodoris temarana Pruvot-Fol, 1953 has a long history of synonyms and misidentifications, although a recent molecular study using specimens from its type locality and in other European Mediterranean and Atlantic locations restored this species as valid. In the town of Cubelles (Catalonia, NE Spain), there is a stable population of D. temarana that has been known for decades. In this work, we study the abundance, growth, and reproduction of D. temarana throughout a whole year in Cubelles, which inhabits a very shallow bottom of sand and loose pebble stones and is highly impacted by human activity and seasonal surge. Moreover, we evaluate the syntopic community of algae and invertebrates living in the studied area. Our results support that D. temarana has an annual cycle, that it reproduces mainly in summer months, and that adult individuals have a great chromatic variability that ranges from orange with darker spots to dark brown individuals without spots or even almost black. Overall, these capacities might allow this species to get adapted to Cubelles, a very unstable environment subjected to waves and sedimentation. |
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