How sea slugs fall in love

Romantic underwater secrets revealed

Posted by Roz Cummins (Guest Contributor) at 2:31 PM on 17 Aug 2007

Read more about: wildlife | oceans | sex

I came across this nugget of information when looking for something else, but thought it was worth sharing:

Scott Cummins and his colleagues at The University of Queensland have uncovered a potent mix of chemicals which acts like a cross between Chanel No 5 and Viagra -- but only if you are a sea slug.

For story: How sea slugs fall in love
2 Comments | Post a Comment

how is this supposed to work again?

Cf. this Wikipedia article, which, in a brilliant gesture of meta-criticism, subverts the validity of its title: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opisthobranchia

Unclear to me is how fast a sea slug (or a nudibranch, or whatever the critter should be called) can move. Also, over how large an area does the pheromone remain effective, and for how long, before the ever-moving waters wash it away?

Anyway, at least the primordial female strategy is clear enough: intoxicate every male in the district with helpless desire, play cruelly with them all, but at the end, settle on just one. Or not -- go home by yourself, that is much the best ending for an oh so exciting evening, the one with the least complications.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 10:06 PM on 17 Aug 2007

Hope for parents of teenagers?

"...sea slugs spent most of their days cruising... the "party" can last for days... We may also be able to develop powerful new tools to eliminate pest species by disrupting this form of communication."

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 6:56 AM on 18 Aug 2007

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