Starvation Tolerance of Early Stage Laguncula pulchella (Naticidae)

Abstract

The starvation tolerance of the moonsnail Laguncula pulchella was examined under nonfeeding conditions in the laboratory using individuals at the early stages of development, which comprised subadults (≤19 mm shell width) and newly hatched juveniles (≤1.7 mm). The newly hatched juveniles survived for ≤86 days at 20°C, ≤56 days at 25°C, and ≤22 days at 30°C, whereas subadults survived for ≤323 days at 20°C and ≤181 days at 30°C. These starvation tolerance ranges were relatively greater than those of other gastropods. There was a positive correlation between shell size and the duration of juvenile survival, indicating that the juveniles hatched at larger sizes have more energy stores. The high starvation tolerance of L. pulchella might be contributing to its invasion success in habitats with low prey availability.