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32 pages, 4821 KiB

Open AccessArticle

First Survey of Heterobranch Sea Slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the Island Sangihe, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

by Nani Undap, Adelfia Papu, Dorothee Schillo, Frans Gruber Ijong, Fontje Kaligis, Meita Lepar, Cora Hertzer, Nils Böhringer, Gabriele M. König, Till F. Schäberle and Heike Wägele

Diversity 2019, 11(9), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/d11090170 - 17 Sep 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6628

Abstract

Indonesia is famous for its underwater biodiversity, which attracts many tourists, especially divers. This is also true for Sangihe Islands Regency, an area composed of several islands in the northern part of North Sulawesi. However, Sangihe Islands Regency is much less known than, e.g., Bunaken National Park (BNP, North Sulawesi). The main island, Sangihe, has recently experienced an increase in tourism and mining activities with potentially high impact on the environment. Recently, monitoring projects began around BNP using marine Heterobranchia as indicators for coral reef health. No information about this taxon exists from the remote islands in North Sulawesi. The present study represents the first monitoring study ever and focuses on marine Heterobranchia around Sangihe. In total, 250 specimens were collected, which could be assigned to Sacoglossa (3), Anthobranchia (19), and Cladobranchia (1). Despite the low number (23 versus 172 in BNP), at least eight species (35%) are not recorded from BNP, probably indicating differences in habitat, but also influence of a strong El Niño year in 2016. Here we also report for the first time a Chromodoris annae specimen mimicking C. elisabethina, and the discovery of a new Phyllidia species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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47 pages, 20673 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Marine Heterobranchia (Gastropoda, Mollusca) in Bunaken National Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia—A Follow-Up Diversity Study

by Jan-Hendrik Eisenbarth, Nani Undap, Adelfia Papu, Dorothee Schillo, Jobel Dialao, Sven Reumschüssel, Fontje Kaligis, Robert Bara, Till F. Schäberle, Gabriele M. König, Nathalie Yonow and Heike Wägele

Diversity 2018, 10(4), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/d10040127 - 4 Dec 2018

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 8222

Abstract

Bunaken National Park has been surveyed for a fourth time in 14 years, in an attempt to establish the species composition of heterobranch sea slugs in a baseline study for monitoring programs and protection of this special park. These molluscs are potentially good indicators of the health of an ecosystem, as many are species-specific predators on a huge variety of marine benthic and sessile invertebrates from almost every taxonomic group. Additionally, they are known to contain bio-compounds of significance in the pharmaceutical industry. It is therefore of paramount importance not only to document the species composition from a zoogeographic point of view, but to assist in their protection for the future, both in terms of economics and aesthetics. These four surveys have documented more than 200 species, with an approximate 50% of each collection found only on that survey and not re-collected. Many species new to science have also been documented, highlighting the lack of knowledge in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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45 pages, 2752 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Potential of Indonesian Heterobranchs Found around Bunaken Island for the Production of Bioactive Compounds

by Katja M. Fisch, Cora Hertzer, Nils Böhringer, Zerlina G. Wuisan, Dorothee Schillo, Robert Bara, Fontje Kaligis, Heike Wägele, Gabriele M. König and Till F. Schäberle

Mar. Drugs 2017, 15(12), 384; https://doi.org/10.3390/md15120384 - 7 Dec 2017

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7974

Abstract

The species diversity of marine heterobranch sea slugs found on field trips around Bunaken Island (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) and adjacent islands of the Bunaken National Marine Park forms the basis of this review. In a survey performed in 2015, 80 species from 23 families were collected, including 17 new species. Only three of these have been investigated previously in studies from Indonesia. Combining species diversity with a former study from 2003 reveals in total 140 species from this locality. The diversity of bioactive compounds known and yet to be discovered from these organisms is summarized and related to the producer if known or suspected (might it be down the food chain, de novo synthesised from the slug or an associated bacterium). Additionally, the collection of microorganisms for the discovery of natural products of pharmacological interest from this hotspot of biodiversity that is presented here contains more than 50 species that have never been investigated before in regard to bioactive secondary metabolites. This highlights the great potential of the sea slugs and the associated microorganisms for the discovery of natural products of pharmacological interest from this hotspot of biodiversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Bioactive Compounds from Marine Invertebrates)

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