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Biol Bull 144: 511-524. (June 1973)
© 1973 Marine Biological Laboratory
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THE REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE INTERTIDAL PROSOBRANCH THAIS LAMELLOSA (GMELIN). I. SEASONAL CHANGES IN THE RATE OF OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND BODY COMPONENT INDEXES

WILLIAM B. STICKLE 1

1 Department of Zoology and Physiology, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

1. Body component indexes of Thais lamellosa were determined over a period of 19 months. Snails were separated into shell, body water, foot, and the visceral mass including its more complex components consisting of the gonad-digestive gland, remaining visceral mass and the female capsule-albumin gland. Indexes were expressed as grams of the component x grams of the entire animal1 x 100. Spawn was collected and weighed. The rate of oxygen consumption was determined for the first year of the study.

2. The body water, visceral mass, gonad-digestive gland, capsule-albumin gland, and female remaining visceral mass indexes exhibited a seasonal cycle of being largest just prior to population aggregation in November, declining during aggregation and remaining low during the summer months. These indexes greatly increased between August and September and remained high until the next population aggregation. The shell index cycled in an inverse pattern to that of the others. merely reflecting changes in the magnitude of the sum total of the other indexes.

3. Aggregation is demanding upon T. lamellosa because it is accompanied by spawning and starvation. Spawn accounted for 77-81% of the size of the visceral mass lost during aggregation with the remainder being lost through respiration. Capsule-albumin gland material accounted for 39-45% of the biomass lost from the visceral mass as spawm. The production of extraembryonic material is metabolically demanding of adult snails.

4. The availability of barnacles of optimum size and distribution for predation by Thais is integrally related to the snail's pattern of nutrient deposition. Barnacles were unavailable for efficient predation from November-August. The increase in the visceral mass, gonad-digestive gland, and the capsule-albumin gland indexes between August and September was probably related to the presence of barnacles of optimum size for predation.

5. The rate of oxygen consumption of both sexes was directly related to water temperature with the male rate being higher than expected from the water temperature at the beginning and end of aggregation.






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Copyright © 1973 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.