DOCSLIB.ORG

Reproductive Effects in Two Species of Native Freshwater Gastropod Mollusc Exposed To

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reproductive Effects in Two Species of Native Freshwater Gastropod Mollusc Exposed To Reproductive effects in two species of native freshwater gastropod mollusc exposed to 17 β- oestradiol or an environmentally relevant mixture of oestrogenic chemicals in outdoor mesocosms A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Alice Louise Baynes Institute for the Environment Brunel University September 2009 ii Declaration The work submitted in this thesis was carried out between 2004 and 2008 at Brunel University (Uxbridge, Middlesex) and Essex and Suffolk Water Treatment Works (Langford, Essex). This work was carried out independently and has not been submitted for any other degree. iii Abstract Institute for the Environment Brunel University Recent evidence suggests that molluscs may be sensitive to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in a similar manner to vertebrates, such as fish. Despite this (with the exception of TBT-induced imposex in marine gastropods), molluscs have been largely overlooked in the field of endocrine disruption. Life-cycle studies were conducted in which two species of native UK freshwater gastropod molluscs (the hermaphrodite Planorbarius corneus and the gonochorist Viviparus viviparus ) were exposed to either 17 β-oestradiol or environmentally relevant mixtures of chemicals known to be oestrogenic to vertebrates and to be present in UK treated sewage effluents (TSE) and rivers. Adult snails were exposed for four months in outdoor mesocosms, fed by river water, over the spring and summer (breeding season) in order to examine effects on reproductive output, growth and mortality. Furthermore, offspring (F1s) were also developmentally exposed over the same period. F1 juvenile snails were then depurated in river water for nine months (over winter) after which time their growth, survival, and reproductive success were measured in further un-dosed river water mesocosm studies in the following spring/summer. Histopathology was used to determine immediate effects of chemical exposure on adult and F1 snails’ reproductive health. Histopathology was also used to determine long lasting effects of chemical exposure on depurated F1s. Exposure to oestrogenic chemicals resulted in a range of effects, including modulated fecundity and growth in F0 adults, to retardation of growth, sexual development and fecundity in developmentally exposed F1s. Exposure to mixtures of oestrogenic chemicals also resulted in possible modulation of the immune system, resulting in increased parasitism and over winter mortality of exposed F1s compared to snails exposed to river water alone. Differences in sensitivity and response to exposure between the two species and the generations were also observed. iv Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my supervisors Dr Edwin Routledge and Dr Susan Jobling for all their advice, guidance and inspiration throughout my PhD research. I would like to thank the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (DEFRA) for their funding and giving me the opportunity to conduct this research. I would also like to acknowledge all the staff at the Institute for the Environment at Brunel University, and Essex and Suffolk Water Treatment works at Langford, Essex, for their day to day help during my practical research, and I would like to thank Dr Burkard Watermann from Limnomar, Germany, for his invaluable histopathological advice and expertise. I would like to say a special thank you to my fellow snail researcher Rachel Benstead for all her advice, hard work and insane amount of egg counting during the mesocosm studies and beyond. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my friends and family for all their support, especially Sonia Chapman and Dr Jon Bolland, for all the good times and for always being their when I needed you most. Lastly I would like to thank Graham Harris. Not least for his snail wrangling skills, but, also for all his support, words of encouragement, and generally keeping me as sane as possible throughout the last push of research and the thesis writing. Thank you. v Contents DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................................ II ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. IV CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... IX LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................... XI 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................2 1.2 THE (VERTEBRATE ) ENDOCRINE SYSTEM ........................................................................................3 1.3 ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION (ED) .........................................................................................................8 1.4 POSSIBLE ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDC S).................................................................9 1.5 EVIDENCE OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION IN THE ENVIRONMENT ......................................................16 1.6 EFFECTS OF KNOWN VERTEBRATE EDC S ON MOLLUSCS : FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES .........22 1.7 THE MOLLUSC ENDOCRINE SYSTEM ..............................................................................................30 1.8 AIMS ..............................................................................................................................................36 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEST SPECIES AND PRELIMINARY WORK ..............................37 2.1 INTRODUCTION TO GASTROPODS ...................................................................................................38 2.1.1 Pulmonates...............................................................................................................................38 2.1.2 Prosobranchs ...........................................................................................................................44 2.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEST SPECIES .............................................................................................47 2.2.1 Test species 1 – Planorbarius corneus (Pulmonate) ................................................................47 2.2.1.1 Ecology, habitat and distribution ...................................................................................................47 2.2.1.2 Life cycle and reproduction ...........................................................................................................48 2.2.1.3 Reproductive Morphology and Physiology....................................................................................49 The Hermaphrodite system.................................................................................................................................49 The ovotestis.......................................................................................................................................................50 2.2.2 Test species 2 – Viviparus viviparus (Prosobranch) ................................................................50 2.2.2.1 Ecology, habitat and distribution ...................................................................................................50 2.2.2.2 Life cycle and reproduction ...........................................................................................................52 Females...................................................................................................................................................55 Males ......................................................................................................................................................57 Embryos..................................................................................................................................................58 2.2.2.3 Reproductive Morphology and Physiology....................................................................................59 Male........................................................................................................................................................59 Female ....................................................................................................................................................59 2.3 PRELIMINARY WORK AND OPTIMISATION .......................................................................................60 2.3.1 Planorbarius corneus...............................................................................................................60 2.3.1.1 Planorbarius corneus acquisition ..................................................................................................61 2.3.1.2 General laboratory culture conditions............................................................................................61 2.3.1.3
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Trends of Aquatic Alien Species Invasions in Ukraine
    Aquatic Invasions (2007) Volume 2, Issue 3: 215-242 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/ai.2007.2.3.8 Open Access © 2007 The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2007 REABIC Research Article Trends of aquatic alien species invasions in Ukraine Boris Alexandrov1*, Alexandr Boltachev2, Taras Kharchenko3, Artiom Lyashenko3, Mikhail Son1, Piotr Tsarenko4 and Valeriy Zhukinsky3 1Odessa Branch, Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU); 37, Pushkinska St, 65125 Odessa, Ukraine 2Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas NASU; 2, Nakhimova avenue, 99011 Sevastopol, Ukraine 3Institute of Hydrobiology NASU; 12, Geroyiv Stalingrada avenue, 04210 Kiyv, Ukraine 4Institute of Botany NASU; 2, Tereschenkivska St, 01601 Kiyv, Ukraine E-mail: [email protected] (BA), [email protected] (AB), [email protected] (TK, AL), [email protected] (PT) *Corresponding author Received: 13 November 2006 / Accepted: 2 August 2007 Abstract This review is a first attempt to summarize data on the records and distribution of 240 alien species in fresh water, brackish water and marine water areas of Ukraine, from unicellular algae up to fish. A checklist of alien species with their taxonomy, synonymy and with a complete bibliography of their first records is presented. Analysis of the main trends of alien species introduction, present ecological status, origin and pathways is considered. Key words: alien species, ballast water, Black Sea, distribution, invasion, Sea of Azov introduction of plants and animals to new areas Introduction increased over the ages. From the beginning of the 19th century, due to The range of organisms of different taxonomic rising technical progress, the influence of man groups varies with time, which can be attributed on nature has increased in geometrical to general processes of phylogenesis, to changes progression, gradually becoming comparable in in the contours of land and sea, forest and dimensions to climate impact.
    [Show full text]
  • Danube Species Viviparus Acerosus (Bourguignat, 1862) (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) in Ukraine
    Folia Malacol. 27(3): 211–222 https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.027.020 DANUBE SPECIES VIVIPARUS ACEROSUS (BOURGUIGNAT, 1862) (GASTROPODA: VIVIPARIDAE) IN UKRAINE ROMAN GURAL1*, VASYL GLEBA2, NINA GURAL-SVERLOVA1 1State Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Teatralna 18, 79008 Lviv, Ukraine (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]) 2Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds, Chervonoarmiiska 148, 90332 Korolevo, Ukraine (e-mail: [email protected]) *corresponding author ABSTRACT: The Danube species Viviparus acerosus has been recorded for the first time from the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. The material was collected in autumn 2018 on the bank of the Roman-Potik reservoir in the environs of Dunkovitsa village, Irshava district. The conchological peculiarities of the adult and embryonic specimens have been described and illustrated, and the shell sizes of the adults are given. It is possible that V. acerosus may occur in other localities of western and south-western parts of Ukraine, but has been mistaken for large specimens of the widespread species Viviparus viviparus. From the Lower Danube in the southwest of the Odessa region, V. acerosus was recorded for the first time as far back as the beginning of the 20th century. In the middle of the 20th century it might be mentioned from this territory as V. viviparus var. hungarica. The necessity for more thorough study of the species composition and distribution of representatives of the genus Viviparus in the Ukrainian part of the Danube basin is argued. KEY WORDS: freshwater molluscs, Viviparus, Danube basin, Transcarpathian region, Ukraine INTRODUCTION Although the presence of the Danube species Thus, in the Eastern European malacological lit- Viviparus acerosus (Bourguignat, 1862) in some ar- erature V.
    [Show full text]
  • Size Structure, Age, Mortality and Fecundity in Viviparus Viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Gastropoda: Architaenioglossa: Viviparidae)
    Vol. 15(3): 109–117 SIZE STRUCTURE, AGE, MORTALITY AND FECUNDITY IN VIVIPARUS VIVIPARUS (LINNAEUS, 1758) (GASTROPODA: ARCHITAENIOGLOSSA: VIVIPARIDAE) BEATA JAKUBIK, KRZYSZTOF LEWANDOWSKI Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, University of Podlasie, B. Prusa 12, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland (e-mail: [email protected]) ABSTRACT: Field and laboratory experiments were aimed at establishing the relationship between growth rate, age, mortality and fecundity of Viviparus viviparus (L.). Fecundity was found to depend on the female’s size. The size (shell dimensions) did not affect the size of newborn snails; females of different size classes produced offspring of the same shell height (4.0 mm) and width (4.5 mm). In the first year of the experiment growth rate was higher in the field than in the laboratory. Sex could be recognised and developing embryos could be found in females in the middle of the second year of the experiment. Juvenile V. viviparus appeared in the lab- oratory when the females were 18 months old and had achieved size class III. Their shell increments were uni- formly distributed, without visible dark winter rings or rings of summer growth inhibition. Winter and sum- mer rings appeared in the second year in the field culture; the second winter ring appeared in the third year of field culture. In the field females at the end of their second year contained embryos; they produced off- spring in the spring of the third year. KEY WORDS: Viviparus viviparus, fecundity, size structure, age structure, growth rate, mortality INTRODUCTION Body size and growth rate are important for the 1994, JACKIEWICZ 2003) and the largest individuals at functioning of any organism; they affect the chances the end of their life show a smaller fecundity of survival and producing offspring, accumulation (VALECKA &JÜTTNER 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • M. M?, Zooi Occasionalpapers on Mollij^ 2 61962
    / ' ' ^ , m. m?, zooi imtii Occasional Papers On MolliJ^ 2 61962 MMRd Published I by (JNll/EHSITy The Department of Mollusks ~- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts VOLUME 2 FEBRUARY 26, 1962 NUMBER 27 A Catalogue of the Viviparidae of North America with Notes on the Distribution of Viviparus georgianus Lea By William J. Clench The following catalogue is a list of genera and species in the Family Viviparidae for North America. The single Cuban spe- cies included is the only Recent species in the Americas which exists outside of North America. Prashad (1928) has given an excellent review of this family, both recent and fossil, from a world standpoint. No Recent species in this family are known from South or Central America. Two fossil species have been described, Palu- dina araucaria Philippi from the Tertiary of Chili and Vivipa- rus wichmanni Duello-Juardo from the Upper Cretaceous of the Rio Negro area of Argentina. In North America, various species in this family occur in rivers which drain into the Atlantic from northeast Mexico to the St. Lawrence River. Two oriental species, V. malleatus Reeve and V. japonicus v. Mts., were introduced into Califor- nia prior to 1900 and have now become widespread, particu- larly in the north central and northeastern states. The fossil history of this family in North America is rather extensive and it extends back at least to the Lower Cretaceous and possibly the Upper Jurassic (see Henderson, J., 1935). With few exceptions the fossil record centers in the region of the Rocky Mountains and the western plains from New Mexico north into northern Alberta.
    [Show full text]
  • Snail and Slug Dissection Tutorial: Many Terrestrial Gastropods Cannot Be
    IDENTIFICATION OF AGRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT MOLLUSCS TO THE U.S. AND OBSERVATIONS ON SELECT FLORIDA SPECIES By JODI WHITE-MCLEAN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2012 1 © 2012 Jodi White-McLean 2 To my wonderful husband Steve whose love and support helped me to complete this work. I also dedicate this work to my beautiful daughter Sidni who remains the sunshine in my life. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my committee chairman, Dr. John Capinera for his endless support and guidance. His invaluable effort to encourage critical thinking is greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank my supervisory committee (Dr. Amanda Hodges, Dr. Catharine Mannion, Dr. Gustav Paulay and John Slapcinsky) for their guidance in completing this work. I would like to thank Terrence Walters, Matthew Trice and Amanda Redford form the United States Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) for providing me with financial and technical assistance. This degree would not have been possible without their help. I also would like to thank John Slapcinsky and the staff as the Florida Museum of Natural History for making their collections and services available and accessible. I also would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman for her assistance in the collection of the fungi used in this dissertation. I am truly grateful for the time that both Dr. Gillett-Kaufman and Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • An Annotated List of the Non-Marine Mollusca of Britain and Ireland
    JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY (2005), VOL.38, NO .6 607 AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE NON-MARINE MOLLUSCA OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND ROY ANDERSON1 Abstract An updated nomenclatural list of the non-marine Mollusca of the Britain and Ireland is provided. This updates all previous lists and revises nomenclature and classification in the context of recent changes and of new European lists, including the Clecom List. Cases are made for the usage of names in the List by means of annotations. The List will provide a basis for the future census and cataloguing of the fauna of Britain and Ireland. Key words Taxonomic, list, nomenclature, non-marine, Mollusca, Britain, Ireland, annotated. INTRODUCTION There has been a need for some time to modernise the list of non-marine Mollusca for Britain and Ireland, a subject last visited in this journal in 1976 (Waldén 1976; Kerney 1976). Many of the changes that have appeared in the literature since then are contentious and Kerney (1999) chose not to incorporate many of these into the latest atlas of non-marine Mollusca of Britain and Ireland. A new European List, the Clecom List (Falkner et al. 2001) has now appeared and it seems appropriate to examine in more detail constituent changes which might affect the British and Irish faunas. This is given additional urgency by the inception of a new census of the molluscs of Britain and Ireland by the Conchological Society. Recorders in the Society are aware of many of the proposed changes but unable to implement them without general agreement. In addition, many field malacologists make use of the recording package RECORDER, a recent form of which has been developed jointly by JNCC and the National Biodiversity Network in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • Viviparus Mamillatus (Küster, 1852), and Partial
    Folia Malacol. 27(1): 43–51 https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.027.004 VIVIPARUS MAMILLATUS (KÜSTER, 1852), AND PARTIAL CONGRUENCE BETWEEN THE MORPHOLOGY-, ALLOZYME- AND DNA-BASED PHYLOGENY IN EUROPEAN VIVIPARIDAE (CAENOGASTROPODA: ARCHITAENIOGLOSSA) ALEKSANDRA RYSIEWSKA1, SEBASTIAN HOFMAN2, ARTUR OSIKOWSKI3, Luboš BERAN4, Vladimir Pešić5, ANDRZEJ FALNIOWSKI1* 1Department of Malacology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Cracow, Poland (e-mail: [email protected]); AR https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9395-9696, AF https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3899-6857 2Department of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Cracow, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6044-3055 3Department of Animal Anatomy, Institute of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Cracow, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6646-2687 4Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic, Regional Office Kokořínsko – Máchův kraj Protected Landscape Area Administration, Mělník, Czech Republic; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5851-6048 5Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9724-345X *corresponding author ABSTRACT: Shells and three DNA loci of Viviparus mamillatus (Küster, 1852), V. contectus (Millet, 1813), V. acerosus Bourguignat 1862 and V. viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758) were analysed. Despite slight morphological differences between the nominal species, and the near-absence of differences in nuclear 18SrRNA (18S) and histone 3 (H3) loci, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) confirmed species distinctness of all but V. mamillatus. The latter should be synonymised with V. contectus. The comparison of COI-based phylogeny with the earlier, allozyme- and morphology-based, phylogenies suggests that V.
    [Show full text]
  • Mass Mortality of Invasive Snails: Impact of Nutrient Release on Littoral Water Quality
    diversity Article Mass Mortality of Invasive Snails: Impact of Nutrient Release on Littoral Water Quality Liubov Yanygina Institute for Water and Environmental Problems SB RAS, Molodezhnaya 1, 656038 Barnaul, Russia; [email protected] Abstract: Mollusks are the macroinvertebrates most commonly introduced into fresh water. In invaded reservoirs, alien mollusks form a large biomass due to their large size. Climate change, water level regulation, and anthropogenic impacts on the environment lead to the drying up of water bodies and the death of littoral macroinvertebrates. To assess the impact of invasive snail mass mortality on water quality, laboratory experiments on the snail tissue decomposition were performed, the potential release of nutrients into aquatic ecosystems was calculated, and the predicted concentrations of nutrients were verified by field studies. The laboratory experiment showed quick decomposition of the common river snail Viviparus viviparus tissues with release into the environment of ammonium and total phosphorus of 2.72 ± 0.14 mg and 0.10 ± 0.02 mg, respectively, per gram of decomposing tissue. The concentrations of ammonium, nitrates, and total phosphorus at the site of snail death reached 2.70 ± 0.10, 3.13 ± 0.38 and 0.30 ± 0.02 mg/L, respectively. This indicates local contamination of the Novosibirsk reservoir littoral with decomposition products. The aquatic management, water level regulation, and control of undesirable species should take into account the likelihood of water quality decreasing as a result of macroinvertebrate mass mortality. Keywords: alien species; die-off; drawdown; invasion; snail Citation: Yanygina, L. Mass Mortality of Invasive Snails: Impact of Nutrient Release on Littoral Water Quality.
    [Show full text]
  • Management Approaches for the Alien Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis)
    2017 Management approaches for the alien Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) J. Matthews, F.P.L. Collas, L. de Hoop, G. van der Velde & R.S.E.W. Leuven 1 Management approaches for the alien Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) J. Matthews, F.P.L. Collas, L. de Hoop, G. van der Velde & R.S.E.W. Leuven 14 July 2017 Radboud University Institute for Water and Wetland Research Department of Environmental Science and Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology Commissioned by Invasive Alien Species Team Office for Risk Assessment and Research Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority i Series of Reports Environmental Science The Reports Environmental Science are edited and published by the Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands (tel. secretariat: + 31 (0)24 365 32 81). Reports Environmental Science 558 Title: Management approaches for the alien Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) Authors: J. Matthews, F.P.L. Collas, L. de Hoop, G. van der Velde & R.S.E.W. Leuven Cover photo: Chinese mystery snails (Bellamya chinensis) collected from Eijsder Beemden, the Netherlands. © Photo: Frank Collas, 2016 Project management: Prof. dr. R.S.E.W. Leuven, Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands, e-mail: [email protected] Quality assurance: Prof. dr. A.Y. Karatayev, Buffalo State University, Great Lakes Center, New York, USA and Ir. D.M. Soes, Bureau Waardenburg BV, Culemborg, The Netherlands Project number: 626460RL2017-2 Client: Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Invasive Alien Species Team, Office for Risk Assessment and Research, P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Red List of the Molluscs of Latvia
    Environmental and Experimental Biology (2018) 16: 55–59 Original Paper https://doi.org/10.22364/eeb.16.08 The New Red List of the molluscs of Latvia Mudīte Rudzīte1*, Elmīra Boikova2, Edgars Dreijers3, Iveta Jakubāne4, Elga Parele2, Digna Pilāte5, Māris Rudzītis6 1Museum of Zoology, University of Latvia, Kronvalda bulv. 4, Rīga LV–1586, Latvia 2Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, Miera 3, Salaspils LV–2169, Latvia 3Latvian Museum of Natural History, Krišjāņa Barona 4, Rīga LV–1050, Latvia 4Daugavpils University, Institute of Life Science and Tehnology, Parādes 1A, Daugavpils LV–5401, Latvia 5Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Rīgas 111, Salaspils LV–2169, Latvia 6Museum of Geology, University of Latvia, Alberta 10, Rīga LV–1010, Latvia *Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected] Abstract A new list of protected molluscs in Latvia – the New Red List – has been prepared. It includes 39 species from 170 species found in Latvia. The category 0 has no species, there is 1 species in the first category, 6 species in the second category, 25 species in the third category, and 7 species in the fourth category. Evaluation criteria similar to these in the previously published Red Books have been used. Information on 64 species included in the IUCN LC category is also collected. There is no need for special protection measures for these species; however, the dynamics of their populations should be monitored. Key words: Latvia, mollusc species, protection status. Introduction Red List categories The first Red Data Book of Latvia was published 33 years The definitions of the following categories are based on ago (Aigare et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 21 Freshwater Gastropoda
    C. F. Sturm, T. A. Pearce, and A. Valdés. (Eds.) 2006. The Mollusks: A Guide to Their Study, Collection, and Preservation. American Malacological Society. CHAPTER 21 FRESHWATER GASTROPODA ROBERT T. DILLON, Jr. 21.1 INTRODUCTION The largest-bodied freshwater gastropods (adults usually much greater than 2 cm in shell length) be- Gastropods are a common and conspicuous element long to the related families Viviparidae and Ampul- of the freshwater biota throughout most of North lariidae. The former family, including the common America. They are the dominant grazers of algae genera Viviparus and Campeloma, among others, and aquatic plants in many lakes and streams, and is distinguished by bearing live young, sometimes can play a vital role in the processing of detritus and parthenogenically. (Eggs are actually held until decaying organic matter. They are themselves con- they hatch internally, so the term “ovoviviparous” sumed by a host of invertebrate predators, parasites, is more descriptive.) Viviparids have the ability to fish, waterfowl, and other creatures great and small. filter feed, in addition to the more usual grazing An appreciation of freshwater gastropods cannot and scavenging habit. The Ampullariidae, tropical help but lead to an appreciation of freshwater eco- or sub-tropical in distribution, includes Pomacea, systems as a whole (Russell-Hunter 1978, Aldridge which lays its large pink egg mass above the water, 1983, McMahon 1983, Dillon 2000). and Marisa, which attaches large gelatinous egg masses to subsurface vegetation. Ampullariids have 21.2 BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY famous appetites for aquatic vegetation. The only ampullariid native to the U.S.A. is the Florida apple The most striking attribute of the North Ameri- snail, Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829), although can freshwater gastropod fauna is its biological other ampullariids have been introduced through diversity.
    [Show full text]
  • Collin, Page 1 of 40 Transitions in Sexual and Reproductive
    Transitions in Sexual and Reproductive Strategies Among the Caenogastropoda Rachel Collin Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa Ancon, Panama. Address for correspondence: STRI, Unit 9100 Box 0948, DPO AA 34002, USA. +507-212- 8766. e-mail: [email protected] Key words: Protandry, Simultaneous Hermaphroditism, Sexual Size Dimorphism, Mate Choice, Prosobranch, Brooding, Aphally, Egg Guarding. Collin, Page 1 of 40 Abstract Caenogastropods, members of the largest clade of shelled snails including most familiar marine taxa, are abundant and diverse and yet surprisingly little is known about their reproduction. In many families, even the basic anatomy has been described for fewer than a handful of species. The literature implies that the general sexual anatomy and sexual behavior do not vary much within a family but for many families this hypothesis remains un-tested. Available data suggest that aphally, sexual dimorphism, maternal care, and different systems of sex determination have all evolved multiple times in parallel in caenogastropods. Most evolutionary transitions in these features have occurred in non-neogastropods (the taxa formerly included in the mesogastropoda). Multiple origins of these features provide the ideal system for comparative analyses of the required preconditions for and correlates of evolutionary transitions in sexual strategies. Detailed study of representatives from the numerous families for which scant information is available, and more completely resolved phylogenies are necessary to significantly improve our understanding of the evolution of sexual systems in the Caenogastropoda. In addition to basic data on sexual anatomy, behavioral observations are lacking for many groups. What data are available indicate that mate choice and sexual selection are complicated in gastropods and that the costs of reproduction may not be negligible.
    [Show full text]