Elysia timida (Risso, 1818) three decades of research.— During the last 30 years, studies on Elysia timida (Risso,
1818) have addressed various aspects related to food sources, photosynthetic efficiency of kleptoplasts, population
genetics, chemical ecology and reproductive biology, both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Mar Menor
coastal lagoon. E. timida shows a strong specific interaction with Acetabularia acetabulum, retaining functional
chloroplasts for at least 45 days and obtaining extra energy in periods when food resources are scarce. It shows
control of parapodia, avoiding pigment photodestruction under oversaturated light conditions. The chemical ecological
relationships established between E. timida and its potential predator fish, Thalassoma pavo, have also
been evaluated, and it has been found that that the extracts of the mollusc contain repellent and unpalatable
polypropionate compounds. Population genetics has demonstrated the genetic divergence between populations
showing high and significant values of FST and genetic distances, and at least six privative alleles that are not
shared with Mediterranean populations have been detected in lagoon populations. This sacoglossan is a poecilogonic
species, and its lagoon populations show a greater reproductive output than Mediterranean populations; they
produce a greater number of egg masses and embyros per individual, and the capsules have a wider diameter