The sea anemone Aiptasia pallida is a biological model for anthozoan research.
Like all cnidarians, A. pallida possesses nematocysts for food capture and defense.
Studies have shown that anthozoans, such as corals, can rapidly increase nematocyst
concentration when faced with competition or predation, suggesting that nematocyst
production may be an induced trait. The potential effects of two types of tissue damage,
predator induced (Lysmata wurdemanni) and artificial (forceps), on nematocyst
concentration was assessed. Nematocysts were identified by type and size to examine the
potential plasticity associated with nematocyst production. While no significant
differences were found in defensive nematocyst concentration between shrimp predation
treatments versus controls, there was a significant difference in small-sized nematocyst in
anemones damaged with forceps. The proportions of the different types of nematocysts between treatment types were also found to be different suggesting that nematocyst
production in A. pallida is a plastic trait. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_13674 |
| Contributors | Jennings, Lucas (author), Laramore, Susan E. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 66 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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