Talk:Melibe
The article is well prepared and informative. It represents a good starting point for those interested in this important model organism. It would be a good idea to include the article by Schivell, A.E., S.S.-H. Wang & S.H. Thompson (1997). Spontaneous behavior of the nudibranch mollusc Melibe leonina is a Markov process. Biological Bulletin, 192 (3), 418-425. In that paper, an attempt is made to investigate behavioral choice and as such represents yet another area where Melibe has contributed to behavioral neuroscience.
Additional comments from another reviewer: I found this article to be concise and informative. Most of the important information about this interesting nudibranch, at least from the behavioral perspective, is included. I have made some comments in CAPS in the text. One additional suggestion is to include some information about Melibe mating behavior and life history. They mate in the spring, in huge aggregations, and then the adults die shortly after. The eggs then develop during the summer and in the fall they begin to appear as juveniles in the same habitat. Like many nudibranches, they are hermaphrodites.
AUTHOR RESPONSE: I HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO ADD A SECTION REGARDING MATING AND LIFE HISTORY BECAUSE THERE IS NOT MUCH PUBLISHED LITERATURE ON THIS AND WHAT IS OUT THERE IS NOT UNIFORM IN ITS FINDINGS. MELIBE IS HERMAPHRODITIC AND MATING HAPPENS AS WITH OTHER NUDIBRANCHS. HOWEVER, THE LIFE HISTORY IS MUCH LESS CLEAR. THE SCENARIO DEPICTED BY THE REVIEWER (ANNUAL GENERATIONS WITH EGGS LAID IN SPRING) IS NOT SUPPORTED BY SOME OF THE PUBLISHED LITERATURE WHICH SHOWS EGGS LAID EVERY SINGLE MONTH OF THE YEAR (HURST, 1967) AND POSSIBLY MULTIPLE GENERATIONS IN A YEAR (BEHRENS [1981] BIMODAL SEASONALITY IN MELIBE LEONINA [GOULD, 1852], OPISTHOBRANCH NEWSLETTER 13: 15-16). THE LIFE HISTORY OF THIS ANIMAL MAY VARY DEPENDING ON HABITAT AND FOOD RESOURCES. SUFFICE TO SAY, LITTLE IS REALLY KNOWN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT AND IT WOULD POTENTIALLY BE MISLEADING TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE. OF COURSE, MORE CAN BE ADDED LATER IF THE LIFE HISTORY BECOMES MORE CLEAR AFTER FURTHER STUDY.
