Along with most of the working world, the Solar Slug team was summarily ejected from the lab on March 19, 2020.  I have been allowed to return occasionally to perform maintenance on the tanks, but was otherwise expected to stay home and continue teaching and other work remotely.  The next generation of slugs had been laying eggs, but I would not be able to devote any form of loving attention to the offspring.

As a devoted follower of the blog, you will remember that it took several years to work out conditions for rearing baby slugs.  The hatchlings need to be protected from pathogens and predators, and must have access to a clean supply of Bryopsis plumosa in order to take their first meals.

Some of the baby slugs did not get the memo.  A few weeks after we began isolation, I saw a few tiny slugs in one of the tanks.  It was a bit of a relief, because I had begun to wonder if I would be able to rear the next generation before the adults became too old to produce eggs.  

Baby slug, reared without effort. Note the large cluster of Valonia at the right of the photo.  4/14/20

The photo below gives a better sense of scale. The youngster, probably already a few weeks old, is less than a centimeter, and is dwarfed by one of the parents. It is impossible to be certain whether it is feeding on the red, filamentous algae, or finding green algae in there somewhere. Their overall color makes it clear that they are both full of green chloroplasts.

As I mentioned above, hatchling Elysia can be delicate, and are very particular about their first meals. If Bryopsis plumosa is not available, then they will starve. During the period of neglect, Bryopsis pennata (excellent food for the adults) has been growing well. Other algae, such as Ulva and Valonia (bubble algae) have also been thriving, along with the unidentified filamentous red algae. Although I have not seen it, there very well may be adequate growth of B. plumosa hidden among the other algae.

Early mortality must have been pretty high, because there are a few dozen youngsters (rather than hundreds) cruising the tank. That is more than enough slugs to keep the colony going for the year, but would not be adequate for experiments. Fortunately/unfortunately the campus is unlikely to return to normal by the fall, so student Slug Club will probably be postponed. Meantime, the new kids will grow into the next generation of parents.