scholarly journals Seasonal cellular stress phenomena and phenotypic plasticity in land snail Helix lucorum (L.) populations from different altitudes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Staikou ◽  
Konstantinos Feidantsis ◽  
Ourania Gkanatsiou ◽  
Modestos Nakos Bibos ◽  
Marianthi Hatziioannou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Seasonal Temperature ◽  
Altitudinal Distribution ◽  
Helix Lucorum ◽  
Biogeographical Distribution ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Specific Proteins ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Shock Proteins

Temperature, a major abiotic environmental factor, regulates various physiological functions in land snails and therefore determines their biogeographical distribution. Thus, species with different distributions may present different thermal tolerance limits. Additionally, the intense reactivation of snail metabolic rate upon arousal from hibernation or aestivation may provoke stress. Land snails, Helix lucorum, display a wide altitudinal distribution resulting in populations being exposed to different seasonal temperature variations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps), mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and proteins that are related to apoptosis (Bcl-2, ubiquitin), that have "cytoprotective" roles and are also considered to be reliable indicators of stress because of their crucial role at maintaining cellular homeostasis. These proteins were assessed in H. lucorum individuals from two different populations, one at Axios (sea level, 0m) and the other one at Kokkinopilos (Olympus, 1250 m), as well as after mutual population exchanges. Therefore, this study aimed to answer whether the different responses of these stress-related proteins depend solely on the environmental temperatures. The results of the present study showed seasonally altered levels in all studied proteins in the hepatopancreas and foot of snails, as much among different populations as between the same populations being exposed to varying altitudes. However, the changes between individuals of the same population acclimatized to a different habitat, showed a relatively similar pattern of expression supporting the induction of the specific proteins under the prism of the life history of each species.

Effects of anoxia on the extra- and intracellular acid-base status in the land snail helix lucorum (L.): lack of evidence for a relationship between pyruvate kinase down-regulation and acid-base status

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (12) ◽  
pp. 1667-1675
Author(s):  
B. Michaelidis ◽  
A. Pallidou ◽  
P. Vakouftsi
Keyword(s):  
Pyruvate Kinase ◽  
Active Form ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Helix Lucorum ◽  
End Products ◽  
Acid Base Status

The aims of the present study were to describe a possible correlation between the regulation of the key glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase and the acid-base status in the haemolymph and in several other tissues of land snails during anoxia. To illustrate whether such a relationship exists, we determined (i) the acid-base variables in the haemolymph and tissues of the land snail Helix lucorum, (ii) the kinetic properties of pyruvate kinase from several tissues and (iii) the levels of the anaerobic end-products d-lactate and succinate in the haemolymph and tissues of aerobic and anoxic Helix lucorum. The results showed that the pH of haemolymph (pHe) decreased significantly over the first 20 h of anoxia and then recovered slowly towards control values. A similar pattern was observed for intracellular pH (pHi), which decreased significantly over the first 16 h of anoxia and slowly returned towards control levels. The reduction and recovery of pHi and pHe seem to reflect the rate of anaerobic metabolism. The main anaerobic end-products, d-lactate and succinate, accumulated rapidly during the initial stages of anoxia and more slowly as anoxia progressed. The decrease in the rate of accumulation of anaerobic end-products during prolonged anoxia was due to the conversion of tissue pyruvate kinase to a less active form. The results demonstrate a correlation between pyruvate kinase down-regulation and the recovery of acid-base status in the haemolymph and the tissues of land snails during anoxia.

Dispersal, home-range size, and habitat use of an endangered land snail, the Oregon forestsnail (Allogona townsendiana)

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 875-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.B. Edworthy ◽  
K.M.M. Steensma ◽  
H.M. Zandberg ◽  
P.L. Lilley
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Maximum Displacement

Terrestrial molluscs have declined globally, often as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. Many land snails are poor dispersers and exist in isolated habitat patches. The Oregon forestsnail ( Allogona townsendiana (I. Lea, 1838)) coincides with the most densely populated region of British Columbia and is listed as endangered in Canada. To investigate the dispersal distances and habitat-use patterns of Oregon forestsnails, we tagged and tracked 21 adult snails at Langley, British Columbia, for up to 3 years (2005–2008). The maximum daily dispersal distance for a snail was 4.5 m and the maximum displacement that we observed for a snail was 32.2 m during 3 years. Snails occupied home-range areas of 18.4–404.4 m2, often overlapping both forest and meadow habitat. Their home-range sizes were smaller in habitats with high availability of stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica L.), which may be an indicator of high-quality habitat. Our results suggest that the Oregon forestsnail is a relatively sedentary species with limited dispersal ability in its adult stage. Although Oregon forestsnails are likely unable to colonize suitable habitat independently, remnant forest–meadow mosaic patches such as our study site provide valuable habitat for Oregon forestsnail, which are supplementary to large tracts of intact forest where most of their populations are found.

scholarly journals Type specimens of Streptaxidae from Henry C. Burnup in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Rodrigo B. Salvador ◽  
Jonathan D. Ablett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
South African ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Small Collection

A small collection containing thirty-nine lots of South African Streptaxidae land snails is housed in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). This material previously belonged to British/South African malacologist Henry C. Burnup, who either donated it to, or exchanged it with New Zealand-based Swiss malacologist Henry Suter, whose land snail collection was eventually acquired by the NMNZ. The lots contain type specimens of eight taxa (species and subspecies) and are presented herein in the form of an annotated and illustrated catalogue.

scholarly journals On the distribution and ecology of a rare land snail, Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Strobilopsidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 102-110
Author(s):  
Larisa A. Prozorova
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
First Time

Представлены подробные сведения о четырех местонахождения редкой наземной улитки Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) на Корейском полуострове и трех в Приморском крае. Впервые показан кальцифильный характер вида. Новое местонахождение вида на п-ове Песчаный (административная территория Владивостока) является наиболее северной точкой распространения рода Eostrobilops Pilsbry, 1927. Ключевые слова: наземные улитки, редкие виды, Приморский край, Красные книги, смешанный хвойно-широколиственный лес, известняки, кальцифильные виды. Data on four localities of the Eostrobilops coreana (Pilsbry, 1927) on Korean Peninsula and Primorye Territory (Russia) are presented. For the first time, calcyphile character of the species is demonstrated. A new revealed site of the species at the Peschany Peninsula (Vladivostok administrative territory) is the most northern locality of the genus Eostrobilops Pilsbry, 1927. Key words: land snails, rare species, Primorye Territory, Red Data Books, mixed coniferous-broadleaved forest, limestone, calcyphile species.

Glycolytic adjustments in tissues of frog Rana ridibunda and land snail Helix lucorum during seasonal hibernation

2008 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 582-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basile Michaelidis ◽  
Pasqualina Kyriakopoulou-Sklavounou ◽  
Alexandra Staikou ◽  
Ioanna Papathanasiou ◽  
Kiriaki Konstantinou
Keyword(s):  
Land Snail ◽  
Rana Ridibunda ◽  
Helix Lucorum

Antioxidant defenses and metabolic depression in a pulmonate land snail

1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. R1386-R1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hermes-Lima ◽  
K. B. Storey
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Glutathione Peroxidase ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Antioxidant Defense ◽  
Thiobarbituric Acid ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Antioxidant Defenses ◽  
Glutathione S Transferase ◽  
Hypometabolic State

During arousal from estivation oxygen consumption by land snails (Otala lactea) increases severalfold. To determine whether snails prepared for an accompanying rise in the rates of oxyradical generation by altering their antioxidant defense mechanisms, changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation products were quantified in foot and hepatopancreas of control, 30-day estivating, and aroused snails. Compared with controls, estivating O. lactea showed significant increases in the activities of foot muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD) (increasing by 56-67%), catalase (51-72%), and glutathione S-transferase (79-108%), whereas, in hepatopancreas, SOD (57-78%) and glutathione peroxidase (93-144%) increased. Within 40 min after arousal began, hepatopancreas glutathione peroxidase activity had returned to control values, but SOD showed a further 70% increase in activity but then returned to control levels by 80 min. Estivation had no effect on total glutathione (GSH + 2 GSSG) concentrations in tissues, but GSSG content had increased about twofold in both organs of 30-day dormant snails. Lipid peoxidation (quantified as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) was significantly enhanced at the onset of arousal from dormancy, indicating that oxidative stress and tissue damage occurred at this time. The data suggest that antioxidant defenses in snail organs are increased while snails are in the hypometabolic state as a preparation for oxidative stress during arousal.

Rainfall in the Negev Desert during the Middle Holocene, Based on 13C of Organic Matter in Land Snail Shells

1990 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A. Goodfriend
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
The Family

AbstractAnalysis of stable carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) of organic matter in land snail shells is used to infer middle Holocene rainfall amounts in the Negev Desert by reconstructing the distribution of C4 plants in the family Chenopodiaceae. The organics are derived from the diet of the snails, which consists of plant material, and are enriched in 13C where C4 plants are present. A survey of modern plant communities indicates that in areas receiving ≥300 mm mean annual rainfall, nearly all plant communities consist of C3 species only (no C4 chenopodes), whereas in areas under ≤230 mm rainfall, most plant communities contain one or more C4 chenopode species. In between is a transition zone consisting of a mosaic of both pure C3 and mixed C3 + C4 plant communities. Isotopic results for fossil land snails indicate a consistent geographic pattern throughout the middle Holocene, from ca. 6500 to 3000 yr B.P., with the transition zone located ca. 20 km south of its present position. This implies a near doubling of rainfall within this region as compared to present.

scholarly journals Carbon Isotope Analysis of Land Snail Shells: Implications for Carbon Sources and Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 810-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A Goodfriend ◽  
Darden G Hood
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Shell Carbonate

13C and 14C analyses were performed on a series of modern Jamaican land snails in order to quantitatively determine the sources of shell carbon. A model of these carbon sources, the pathways by which carbon reaches the shell, and the fractionation processes involved are presented. The contribution of limestone to shell carbonate is variable but may comprise up to 33% of the shell. About 25–40% of shell carbonate is derived from plants and about 30–60% from atmospheric CO2. Variation among populations and species with respect to 13C and 14C is attributed to the effects of limestone incorporation, snail size (as it affects CO2 exchange rate), physiological characteristics (presence of urease, respiration rate), and activity patterns of the snails. A formula for correction for isotopic fractionation of 14C of shell carbonate, based on 13C measurements, is derived. Bicarbonate-aragonite fractionation is apparently very minimal. Shell organic carbon appears to be derived largely from plants but also to a lesser extent from inorganic hemolymph carbon. This introduces the possibility of a small age anomaly of shell organic 14C due to limestone incorporation.

scholarly journals The direct cost of traumatic secretion transfer in hermaphroditic land snails: individuals stabbed with a love dart decrease lifetime fecundity

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1804) ◽  
pp. 20143063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuki Kimura ◽  
Satoshi Chiba
Keyword(s):  
Direct Cost ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Fertilization Success ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Arms Races ◽  
Lifetime Fecundity ◽  
Sperm Donors

Several taxa of simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails exhibit a conspicuous mating behaviour, the so-called shooting of love darts. During mating, such land snail species transfer a specific secretion by stabbing a mating partner's body with the love dart. It has been shown that sperm donors benefit from this traumatic secretion transfer, because the secretions manipulate the physiology of a sperm recipient and increase the donors' fertilization success. However, it is unclear whether reception of dart shooting is costly to the recipients. Therefore, the effect of sexual conflict and antagonistic arms races on the evolution of traumatic secretion transfer in land snails is still controversial. To examine this effect, we compared lifetime fecundity and longevity between the individuals that received and did not receive dart shooting from mating partners in Bradybaena pellucida . Our experiments showed that the dart-receiving snails suffered reduction in lifetime fecundity and longevity. These results suggest that the costly mating behaviour, dart shooting, generates conflict between sperm donors and recipients and that sexually antagonistic arms races have contributed to the diversification of the morphological and behavioural traits relevant to dart shooting. Our findings also support theories suggesting a violent escalation of sexual conflict in hermaphroditic animals.

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