Control of feeding in three species of Aplysia from the coasts of Israel

A number of parametric features of feeding behavior were examined in Aplysia fasciata and A. depilans from the Mediterranean Sea, and in A. oculifera from the Red Sea. Data were compared with published data for the same parameters inA. californica. Appetitive and consumatory components of feeding are similar in all species examined. Exposure to food induces a state of food arousal in all species. Satiation occurs after eating comparable quantities of food, when the anterior gut is filled with food. A. californica and A. fasciata both learn to stop eating food that is too tough to swallow, when the food is caught in the buccal cavity. The data indicate that all species of Aplysia examined can be used interchangeably in studies on the control of feeding.