[Coral-List] Nudibranch infestation of Pavona cactus

[Sangeeta Mangubhai]

Dear MJ and Coral-listers,

I have some photos of black nudibranchs with small orange spots (1 species)
that appeared to "feed" on Platygyra daedalea in Mombasa, Kenya. I did
not see them on any other species of coral. The nudibranchs did not seem to
cause any harm to the corals, and the maximum number of individuals I saw on
any one colony was 15-20. Could not tell what exactly they were feeding
on - the coral tissue had small light brown patches on them, but the corals
did not appear to be harmed.

My question is, are they feeding just on the external coral tissue or on the
eggs of the coral? I ask this as my tagged corals
did have fairly mature eggs present when I first encountered this nudibranch
species, and since spawning, I have not seen these nudibranchs. May be just
coincidence, but I thought it was worth asking about in case it effects my
coral fecundity estimates.

I do have some photos of the nudibranchs in question if any one is
interested or who can give me some feedback on what I observed. MJ, I would
also like to get the email address of Angel Valdes, the nudibranch curator
at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, to see if he can give me a
name for my nudibranch.

Cheers, Sangeeta Mangubhai

____________________________
Sangeeta Mangubhai
P.O. Box 10135
Bamburi 80101
Mombasa
KENYA
Tel/Fax: +254 (41) 5486 473 (w)
Mobile: 0733 698 771
smangubhai at africaonline.co.ke