KRUG LAB - EVOLUTIONARY AND LARVAL ECOLOGY OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES
Angela Llaban, M.S. 2010
Angela's M.S. thesis showed that density-dependent interactions between the related sea slugs Alderia willowi and A. modesta contribute to population dynamics at a seasonally shifting range boundary in San Francisco Bay. Her work suggests high costs of mating in hermaphrodites that mate by hypodermic insemination; a slug injects sperm anywhere on the body of a willing (or unwilling) recipient. When both species are present, the larger A. modesta damages the smaller A. willowi during mating, reducing egg production in the lab and potentially contributing to annual extinction of A. willowi from northern sites. Angela also showed that egg masses of conspecifics facilitated reproduction, while those of the sister species suppressed egg laying.
Angela presented her work in 2009 at meetings of Southern California Academy of Sciences, the Western Society of Malacologists, and the Western Society of Naturalists. For many years, she worked at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, one of the finest aquaria in California dedicated to aquaculture, education and community outreach. She currently works for the state of California doing watershed management and habitat assessment.