Autotomy of the posterior foot in Agaronia (Caenogastropoda: Olividae) occurs in animals that are fully withdrawn into their shells

Rupert, Samantha D.; Peters, Winfried S.

doi:10.1093/mollus/eyr019

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Similar behavior is exhibited by other large olivids including Olivancillaria auricularia (Lamarck 1811) (as O. vesica auricularia ; Rocha-Barreira, 2002 ) and Agaronia propatula (Conrad 1849) ( Rupert & Peters, 2011 ). Unlike Oliva spp., which are predominantly active at night, A. propatula forages on the intertidal plains of sandy beaches during intermediate and low tide at daylight.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Unlike Oliva spp., which are predominantly active at night, A. propatula forages on the intertidal plains of sandy beaches during intermediate and low tide at daylight. Thus, A. propatula are more readily observed in the wild (videos showing A. propatula capturing prey are available as supplementary materials with Rupert & Peters, 2011 , and Cyrus et al, 2012 ). The gastropod also shows a range of interesting adaptations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Complexity of the prey spectrum ofAgaronia propatula(Caenogastropoda: Olividae), a dominant predator in sandy beach ecosystems of Pacific Central America

Robinson

Peters

2018

PeerJ

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Olivid gastropods of the genus Agaronia are dominant predators within invertebrate communities on sandy beaches throughout Pacific Central America. At Playa Grande, on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, we observed 327 natural predation events by Agaronia propatula. For each predation event, we documented prey taxa and body size of both predator and prey. The relationship between predator and prey size differed for each of the four main prey taxa: bivalves, crustaceans, heterospecific gastropods, and conspecific gastropods (representing cannibalism). For bivalve prey, there was increased variance in prey size with increasing predator size. Crustaceans were likely subdued only if injured or otherwise incapacitated. Heterospecific gastropods (mostly Olivella semistriata) constituted half of all prey items, but were only captured by small and intermediately sized A. propatula. Large O. semistriata appeared capable of avoiding predation by A. propatula. Cannibalism was more prevalent among large A. propatula than previously estimated. Our findings suggested ontogenetic niche shifts in A. propatula and a significant role of cannibalism in its population dynamics. Also indicated were size-dependent defensive behavior in some prey taxa and a dynamic, fine-scale zonation of the beach. The unexpected complexity of the trophic relations of A. propatula was only revealed though analysis of individual predation events. This highlights the need for detailed investigations into the trophic ecology of marine invertebrates to understand the factors driving ecosystem structuring in sandy beaches.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity of the prey spectrum ofAgaronia propatula(Caenogastropoda: Olividae), a dominant predator in sandy beach ecosystems of Pacific Central America

Robinson

Peters

2018

PeerJ

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“…The recently discovered footautotomy in intertidal Agaronia species until now represented the only exception for the above evolutionary scenario, suggesting an essential role for loss of the opercula, instead of the shells, in the evolution of foot autotomy in gastropods [29]. Similarly, foot autotomy in terrestrial gastropods had been known only in several species of shell-less slugs, and is usually induced by attacks by carabid beetles [39][40][41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, spiny mice autotomize the skin of the tail from the underlying muscles to survive predation, resulting in a naked wound and subsequent necrosis of the tail [18]. The definition of autotomy is especially loose in molluscs [17], partly because breakage planes are not evident in tissues of molluscs that are regarded to perform autotomy [28,29] unlike in musculature segments of lizard tails and in hinges of arthropod appendages. The keys to defining autotomy as an anti-predator mechanism in molluscs are the unsuitability of the predator's feeding apparatus to separate prey body parts and the adaptive significance of the body-part loss induced by predators.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost of autotomy drives ontogenetic switching of anti-predator mechanisms under developmental constraints in a land snail

Hoso

2012

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Autotomy of body parts offers various prey animals immediate benefits of survival in compensation for considerable costs. I found that a land snail Satsuma caliginosa of populations coexisting with a snaileating snake Pareas iwasakii survived the snake predation by autotomizing its foot, whereas those out of the snake range rarely survived. Regeneration of a lost foot completed in a few weeks but imposed a delay of shell growth. Imprints of autotomy were found in greater than 10 per cent of S. caliginosa in the snake range but in only less than 1 per cent out of it, simultaneously demonstrating intense predation by the snakes and high efficiency of autotomy for surviving snake predation in the wild. However, in experiments, mature S. caliginosa performed autotomy less frequently. Instead of the costly autotomy, they can use defensive denticles on the inside of their shell apertures. Owing to the constraints from the additive growth of shells, most pulmonate snails can produce these denticles only when they have fully grown up. Thus, this developmental constraint limits the availability of the modified aperture, resulting in ontogenetic switching of the alternative defences. This study illustrates how costs of adaptation operate in the evolution of life-history strategies under developmental constraints

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“…As a group, the test beaches represented ecological gradients regarding their exposure to wave energy, and with respect to the type and extent of human activities (Table 1). Finally, the test beaches varied significantly with regard to predation pressure on O. semistriata, with estimated minimum densities of its main predator Agaronia propatula (López et al 1988, Rupert & Peters 2011, Cyrus et al 2012) between 0 and >20 individuals per 100 m beach length. (Table 1).…”

Section: Developmental and Ecological Plasticity In O Semistriatamentioning

confidence: 99%

What can we learn from confusing Olivella columellaris and O. semistriata (Olivellidae, Gastropoda), two key species in panamic sandy beach ecosystems?

et al. 2012

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Olivella columellaris (Sowerby 1825) and O. semistriata (Gray 1839) are suspension-feeding, swash-surfing snails on tropical sandy beaches of the east Pacific. While they often are the numerically dominant macrofaunal element in their habitats, their biology is poorly understood; the two species actually have been confused in all of the few publications that address their ecology. Frequent misidentifications in publications and collections contributed also to an overestimation of the geographic overlap of the two species. To provide a sound taxonomic basis for further functional, ecological, and evolutionary investigations, we evaluated the validity of diagnostic traits in wild populations and museum collections, and defined workable identification criteria. Morphometric analysis demonstrated that shell growth is allometric in O. columellaris but isometric in O. semistriata, suggesting that the species follow distinct developmental programs. The taxonomic confusion is aggravated by the existence of populations of dwarfish O. semistriata, which originally had been described as a separate species, O. attenuata (Reeve 1851). At our Costa Rican study sites, the occurrence of such dwarfish populations correlates with low wave energies but not with predation pressure and anthropogenic disturbances, indicating significant ecological plasticity in the development of O. semistriata.

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Autotomy of the posterior foot in Agaronia (Caenogastropoda: Olividae) occurs in animals that are fully withdrawn into their shells

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Complexity of the prey spectrum ofAgaronia propatula(Caenogastropoda: Olividae), a dominant predator in sandy beach ecosystems of Pacific Central America

Complexity of the prey spectrum ofAgaronia propatula(Caenogastropoda: Olividae), a dominant predator in sandy beach ecosystems of Pacific Central America

Cost of autotomy drives ontogenetic switching of anti-predator mechanisms under developmental constraints in a land snail

What can we learn from confusing Olivella columellaris and O. semistriata (Olivellidae, Gastropoda), two key species in panamic sandy beach ecosystems?

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