Reproductive cycles of four species of Patella (Mollusca: Gastropoda) on the northern and central Portuguese coast

Abstract

The reproductive cycles of four limpet species, Patella depressa, Patella ulyssiponensis, Patella vulgata and Patella rustica are described for several locations in northern and central Portugal. Patella depressa and P. ulyssiponensis displayed almost continual gonad activity, with two main spawning periods, September–January and March–June, and minor spawning events dispersed throughout the year. Patella vulgata and P. rustica exhibited highly synchronized reproductive cycles, with well-defined breeding and resting periods. Gonad development in P. vulgata started in September and spawning took place from November–December to March. In P. rustica development started in June and spawning occurred from September–October to December–January. Compared to the 1980s these results suggest that breeding periods are becoming longer in southern species and shorter in northern species.

Growth and reproduction of the north-eastern Atlantic keystone species Patella aspera (Mollusca: Patellogastropoda)

“…Most information available on the biology of Patella species is focused on Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758. Even so, some aspects of limpet biology such as reproduction have been studied for other species such as Patella ulyssiponensis Gmelin, 1791, Patella depressa Pennant, 1777, Patella rustica Linnaeus, 1758 and Patella candei [6,9,[14][15][16][17].…”

“…The occurrence of a spawning pulse from January to April indicates that P. aspera is a winter breeder like P. candei in the Madeira archipelago [17], P. vulgata in the British Isles [18,60] and unlike Patella ulyssiponensis and Patella depressa, in the central Portuguese coast, described as summer breeders [6,9,15,16].…”

Characterization of the reproductive cycle and physiological condition of Patella vulgata in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula: Relevant information for a sustainable exploitation

“…Spawning events were identified by a decrease in percent of mature gonads followed by an increase in empty gonads (Ribeiro et al, 2009). From this graphical observation (see Fig.…”

“…As many other intertidal invertebrates, limpets have been traditionally exploited for consumption in many places around the world such as Mexico and South of the United States (Pombo and Escofet, 1996), Hawaii (McCoy, 2008), Canary Islands (Moro and Herrera, 2000), Azores (Martins et al, 1987) and Chile (Olivares-Paz et al, 2006). In some areas, the high demand and the lack of an adequate planning for a sustainable exploitation, such in Canary Island, or the deficient enforcement of the conservation measures, such in Azores, has originated important overexploitation issues, which have led to the commercial extinction of some species (Official Bulletin of the the reproductive cycle and population dynamics in the Portuguese and British coasts indicate a high intra-and inter-specific variability regarding parameters such as density, growth rate, reproductive cycle and sex ratio (Baxter, 1983;Morais et al, 2003;McCarthy et al, 2008;Ribeiro et al, 2009), correlating with abiotic parameters, such as latitude, wave exposure or substrate height and slope, as well as on biotic parameters, due to competence with other species.…”

Explaining Ocean Warming: Causes, scale, effects and consequences

“…Warm-temperate, sub-tropical and tropical species are often capable of multiple broods (e.g. Lewis, 1986;Ribeiro et al, 2009). In animals that are directdevelopers, population expansions stem directly from brood size and frequency leading to more juveniles being born and surviving initial developmental stages.…”