I figured, but I have checked all the online suppliers I could get ahold of, and everyone seems to sell the all white variety. My research advisor recommended I reach out on social media and forums like this one to see if anyone happens to have some. The inconsistencies in the literature when it comes to naming have made this more complicated, I am glad that they look different enough that people who don't research slugs are able to tell them apart. Despite this, the confusion creates an even bigger need for research, which is great because it gives justification for research (aside from wanting to keep slugs because they're adorable, obviously)
This project has been close to 2 years in the making, and the exact details have changed quite a bit in that time. To sum it up, I want to study developmental plasticity, which is when one species is capable of multiple development modes, usually described as "indirect" and "direct" development. I started out wanting to study this in fire salamanders, which is where I first learned about this kind of variation, but due to many logistical issues, I had to switch model organisms quite a few times and landed on nudibranchs. The great thing about nudibranchs is that they are small and most reproduce quickly, which is helpful for culturing larger populations and doing generational studies. The reason I am looking for the two species of nudibranchs is that one species (the orange-tipped one that I cannot find) has plasticity within a single clutch of eggs, meaning siblings that are laid at the same time can develop in two different ways, which is rare. Ideally, if I can get both species of berghia, I would be able to test environmental conditions on related species where one is plastic and one is aplastic and try to figure out what makes them tick. If you'd like to learn more, I would be happy to go more in-depth. I also have a
website that I made specifically for my research, which I try to update regularly.
