Life history of the land snail Habroconus semenlini (Stylommatophora: Euconulidae) under laboratory conditions

Abstract

Habroconus semenlini is a micro-terrestrial gastropod native to South America. There are no previous studies on its biology. We studied its pattern of growth, fertility and lifespan under laboratory conditions. For this purpose, 80 snails were either grouped or kept isolated (40 animals in each condition) during their lifetime. Growth is indeterminate and the species is capable of self-fertilization with high reproductive success. Grouped snails had lower fecundity than the animals that were kept in isolation. This species has a short lifespan and only one reproductive period, which characterizes the occurrence of semelparity.

Reproduction of <i>Omalonyx matheroni</i> (Gastropoda: Succineidae) under laboratory conditions

“…These authors observed that mated individuals laid clutches with more eggs and demonstrated a higher fertility rate than unmated individuals. On the other hand, Silva et al (2009) verified an increase in the reproductive success of Habroconus semenlini (Moricand 1846) (Stylommatophora: Euconulidae) reared in isolation. To verify the impact of cross-fertilization and selfing on life history traits of O. matheroni, further studies should determine the number of descendants that reach the adult phase.…”

“…Life history characters are known to be influenced by diverse factors, present wide intraspecific and interspecific variation and be related to life history evolution (Roff 1992, Stearns 1992, Silva et al 2009). Research on mollusks reaffirms this statement (South 1982, Dillen et al 2009).…”

Selfing and brooding in Alinda biplicata (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Clausiliidae) – life history traits of a good coloniser

“…Biparental reproduction is very common among Gastropoda, while uniparental reproduction is still poorly known: it has been recorded for representatives of 14 genera of Prosobranchia (parthenogenesis), 3 genera of Opisthobranchia (selfing), and about 40 genera of Pulmonata (selfing) (Lucarz, 1991;Heller, 1993-literature review, Chen, 1994Bessa & Aratjjo, 1995;Wirth et al, 1997;Almeida & Bessa, 2001;Silva et al, 2008Silva et al, , 2009Carvalho et al, 2009;Escobar et al, 2011;Montresor et al, 2012). Among Clausiliidae it has only been recorded for Balea perversa (Wirth et al, 1997;Baur & Baur, 2000).…”

“…Subulina octona (brooding and capable of selfing, based on Bessa & Araiijo, 1995) from Soutb America and S. striatella (brooding and capable of selfing, based on own observations) from Africa are increasingly often recorded from European bot bouses (Kemey et al, 1983;Juncková, 2006). Habroconus semenlini (brooding and capable of selfing, based on Silva et al, 2009) is a common Soutb American snail, originally a forest-dweller but now tbriving in deforested babitats.…”

On growth and form of irregular coiled-shell of a terrestrial snail:Plectostoma concinnum(Fulton, 1901) (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Diplommatinidae)

“…Although the form and structure of aquatic and terrestrial gastropod shells are very similar, there are fundamental differences in the physiological and physical aspects of shell growth between them (Wagge, 1951; Kado, 1960; Fournié & Chétail, 1984). In recent decades, more studies on terrestrial gastropods have been conducted (e.g., Berry, 1962; Umiński, 1975; Oosterhoff, 1977; Baur, 1984; Ahmed & Raut, 1991; Johnson & Black, 1991; Kobayashi & Hadfield, 1996; Kramarenko & Popov, 1999; de Almeida & de Almeida Bessa, 2001a; de Almeida & de Almeida Bessa, 2001b; D’Avila & de Almeida Bessa, 2005; Bloch & Willig, 2009; Silva et al, 2009; Sulikowska-Drozd, 2011; Kuźnik-Kowalska et al, 2013; Silva et al, 2013). It is worth mentioning that most of these growth experiments used traditional morphometric methods and were conducted in the laboratory (but see Oosterhoff, 1977; Johnson & Black, 1991).…”