The sea slug Pteraeolidia ianthina can harbour living dinoflagellates (photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea slugs very much, but high populations ( 5 × 105 cells/mg of sea slug protein) can promote sea slug survival.
Percent of sea slug respiratory carbon demand provided by indwelling dinoflagellates.
-If the dinoflagellate-containing sea slug P. ianthina preys on coral animals, then it would be most surprising to find that ________.
A) P. ianthina can tolerate the toxin in the nematocysts of its prey
B) P. ianthina can locate its coral prey by chemicals released into the water by corals
C) the coral prey harbour dinoflagellates in their tissues
D) the coral prey transform themselves into medusas to flee from approaching P. ianthina

Question

The sea slug Pteraeolidia ianthina can harbour living dinoflagellates (photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea slugs very much, but high populations (> 5 × 105 cells/mg of sea slug protein) can promote sea slug survival. 
Percent of sea slug respiratory carbon demand provided by indwelling dinoflagellates.
-If the dinoflagellate-containing sea slug P. ianthina preys on coral animals, then it would be most surprising to find that ________.
A) P. ianthina can tolerate the toxin in the nematocysts of its prey 
B) P. ianthina can locate its coral prey by chemicals released into the water by corals 
C) the coral prey harbour dinoflagellates in their tissues 
D) the coral prey transform themselves into medusas to flee from approaching P. ianthina

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

It would be surprising to find that the coral prey transform themselves into medusas to flee from approaching P. ianthina since corals are sessile and do not have the ability to transform into medusas, which are free-swimming jellyfish. Therefore, this option is the best choice. Options A, B, and C are all plausible as sea slugs have adaptations to deal with toxins in prey, can locate prey by chemicals, and can have dinoflagellates in their tissues just like corals.

The Sea Slug Pteraeolidia Ianthina Can Harbour Living Dinoflagellates (Photosynthetic