Solar Powered Sea Slugs Aid Climate Change

• Phyllodesmium Lizardensis is able to form a symiotic bond with the algae from the coral it eats.
• Among other things, this allows them to use the algae to recycle the sun's energy, or use the "stinging cells" in certain corals to defend themselves.
• The key to this surprising change is the ability of the nudibrachs (sea slugs) to incorporate into themselves the characteristics of tiny single celled plants, zooxanthellae, which also share a somewhat symbiotic bond with the corals.
• When tested, results showed that a sudden change in climate will leave the coral dead in a zooxanthellae-coral bond, but the zooxanthellae die in a zooxanthellae-nudibrach bond.

Reflection:
This is quite an interesting article in my opinion, despite the fact that much of it is scientific mumbo jumbo. It almost seems to me like these slugs are "cheating" evolution by not only benefiting from whatever ways natural selection shapes them, but being able to use the hard earned natural advantages of other organisms. It almost reminds me of humans, the way we can derive vaccines from bacteria to gain immunity, or cut the coat of an animal to gain its benefits. In fact, the more that on thinks about it, humans are really leeching from the entire world, taking whatever they need and adapting it for use by themselves. In essence, just like these corals.

Source:
Martlew, Marea. "Solar Powered Sea Slugs Aid Climate Change (Science Alert)." Science Alert: Australia & NZ Science News, Scholarships, Jobs, Events. Web. 19 May 2010. .