Field and laboratory studies on the life-cycle, growth and feeding preference in the hairy snail Trochulus hispidus (L., 1758) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygromiidae)

Biologia ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Proćków ◽  
Magda Drvotová ◽  
Lucie Juřičková ◽  
Elżbieta Kuźnik-Kowalska
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Acer Pseudoplatanus ◽  
Annual Life Cycle ◽  
Cycle Growth ◽  
In The Wild

AbstractFor the first time the life cycle of the common land snail Trochulus hispidus was completely described in Central Europe (Poland). This is a semelparous species predominantly with an annual life cycle and the reproductive period lasting from April till October. The first young snails hatch in spring, grow rapidly in summer and reach ca. 4 whorls until winter. In spring of the next year they mature and reproduce. After that they die. There is hardly any growth from late autumn till early spring. The average proportional growth rate is ca. 0.3 whorl/month in the wild. The fastest growth is present in the youngest snails and then gradually decreases over the course of their age. Laboratory and field observations allowed for establishing the following life cycle parameters: eggs calcified, almost spherical, ca. 1.5 mm, laid in spring and summer in batches of between 1 and 47. Time to hatching is 6–24 days, hatching is asynchronous; newly-hatched snails have approximately 1.5 whorls. Analysis of food preferences revealed, that T. hispidus tends to restrict its diet during the life. Generally the youngest snails equally consumed leaves of all four tree species offered (Fraxinus excelsior, Acer pseudoplatanus, Tilia cordata and A. platanoides) whereas adults preferred F. excelsior over A. pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides.

scholarly journals Distribution, feeding behavior and control strategies of the exotic land snail Achatina fulica (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in the northeast of Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
FS. Albuquerque ◽  
MC. Peso-Aguiar ◽  
MJT. Assunção-Albuquerque
Keyword(s):  
Ricinus Communis ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Habitat Choice ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Mentha Spicata ◽  
Lippia Alba ◽  
And Control

The goal of this study was to document the distribution and establishment A. fulica such as their feeding preference and behavior in situ. The study was carried out at the city of Lauro de Freitas, Bahia state, Brazil, between November 2001 and November 2002. We used catch per unit effort methods to determine abundance, distribution, habitat choice and food preferences. The abundance and distribution of A. fulica was most representative in urban area, mainly near to the coastline. Lots and house gardens were the most preferred sites during active hours. The results indicated that A. fulica started their activity at the end of the evening and stopped in mid-morning. Their preferred food were vascular plants such as Hibiscus syriacus, Ricinus communis, Carica papaya, Galinsonga coccinea, Lippia alba, Ixora coccinea, Musa parasidisiaca, Mentha spicata and Cymbopogon citrates. Our results indicate that A. fulica are well adapted and established in this city and modified environments facilitate their establishment and dispersion. However, human perturbation, such as clearance of lots could be limiting for the persistence of A. fulica populations.

scholarly journals Annual Life Cycle and Floral Development of 'Sarah Bernhardt' Peony in Israel

HortScience ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia Barzilay ◽  
Hanita Zemah ◽  
Rina Kamenetsky ◽  
Itzhak Ran
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Apical Meristem ◽  
Floral Development ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Annual Life Cycle ◽  
Bud Emergence ◽  
Leaf Formation ◽  
Floral Differentiation ◽  
Generative Stage

The life cycle and morphogenesis of the floral shoot of Paeonia lactiflora Pallas cv. Sarah Bernhardt were studied under Israeli conditions. The renewal buds for the following year originate on the underground crown, at the base of the annual stems. Bud emergence begins in early spring. Stems elongate rapidly and reach heights of 50-70 cm in 60-70 days. Flowering begins in April and continues until the end of May. After flowering, the leafy stems remain green until September-October, when the leaves senesce, and the peony plant enters the “rest” stage for 3-4 months. The new monocarpic shoot initiated in the renewal bud at the end of June with the formation of the first leaf primordia and continued to increase in size until February. During summer, the renewal buds remain vegetative. The apical meristem ceases leaf formation after senescence of the aboveground shoots in the fall. During September, the apical meristem of the renewal buds reaches the generative stage and achieves the form of a dome, but remains undifferentiated. In October, floral parts become visible. Floral differentiation is terminated at the beginning of December. Floral initiation and differentiation of peony do not require low temperatures. Morphological development and florogenesis were similar to other geophyte species with an annual thermoperiodic life cycle.

scholarly journals Cost of autotomy drives ontogenetic switching of anti-predator mechanisms under developmental constraints in a land snail

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1748) ◽  
pp. 4811-4816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Hoso
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Shell Growth ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Developmental Constraint ◽  
Developmental Constraints ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Snake Range ◽  
In The Wild

Autotomy of body parts offers various prey animals immediate benefits of survival in compensation for considerable costs. I found that a land snail Satsuma caliginosa of populations coexisting with a snail-eating snake Pareas iwasakii survived the snake predation by autotomizing its foot, whereas those out of the snake range rarely survived. Regeneration of a lost foot completed in a few weeks but imposed a delay of shell growth. Imprints of autotomy were found in greater than 10 per cent of S. caliginosa in the snake range but in only less than 1 per cent out of it, simultaneously demonstrating intense predation by the snakes and high efficiency of autotomy for surviving snake predation in the wild. However, in experiments, mature S. caliginosa performed autotomy less frequently. Instead of the costly autotomy, they can use defensive denticles on the inside of their shell apertures. Owing to the constraints from the additive growth of shells, most pulmonate snails can produce these denticles only when they have fully grown up. Thus, this developmental constraint limits the availability of the modified aperture, resulting in ontogenetic switching of the alternative defences. This study illustrates how costs of adaptation operate in the evolution of life-history strategies under developmental constraints

Temporal variation in the weight-size relationship of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus L. (Decapoda: Ucididae) in relation to its life cycle phases

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos de Miranda Leão Leite ◽  
Cynthia Yuri Ogawa ◽  
Carla Ferreira Rezende ◽  
José Roberto Feitosa Silva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Total Weight ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Annual Life Cycle ◽  
Ucides Cordatus ◽  
Mangrove Crab ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between weight and size of individuals can be used to evaluate the status of a population, which is particularly useful for natural populations that are being exploited. Ucides cordatus occurs on the Atlantic coast of the American continent, from Florida (USA) to Santa Catarina (Brazil). This species is economically very important, most of all in the Northeastern area of Brazil, as well as in the Dominican Republic and Suriname. The objective of this study was to analyze life phases (‘fattening’, ‘matumba’, ‘milk-crab’, ‘maturation’ and ‘walking’) by use of the weight-length relationships, as well as temporal variations in this condition factor for each sex of U. cordatus. For this purpose, individuals were sampled monthly for twenty-four months at the Jaguaribe River estuary, Ceará State, Northeastern Brazil. The relationship between total weight and cephalothorax width was established using regression analysis, adjusted by a power equation. The dynamics of the condition factor were analyzed for each sex using the variation of its averages related to annual life cycle; this was done for each of the previously-mentioned phases. The relationship between total weight and cephalothorax width showed an isometric growth in males and negative allometric growth in females suggesting that, for the same reference size, males are heavier than females. When considering the average of the female condition factors, these were greater than those for males during the annual life cycle, except during the ‘maturation’ phase, which is the phase with a higher demand of energetic reserves for males. Annual variation of the condition factor in females presented no significant difference.

Behavioural aspects of microhabitat segregation of different age stages in the wetland land snail Vertigo moulinsiana (Eupulmonata: Vertiginidae) in the laboratory

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Zofia Książkiewicz-Parulska
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
High Humidity ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Temperature And Humidity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Different Response ◽  
Behavioural Aspects ◽  
Microhabitat Segregation

ABSTRACT This laboratory study investigated behavioural differences between adults and juveniles of the wetland land snail species Vertigo moulinsiana with respect to temperature and humidity. Juveniles of V. moulinsiana, for example, tend to remain within the shaded, humid and cool layer of the litter, while adults usually climb above wet vegetation to a height of over 2 m. Adults are thus exposed to greater variation in temperature and humidity than juveniles. My experiments showed that adults of V. moulinsiana remain active longer than juveniles when subject to high temperature (36 °C) and low relative humidity (RH 30%). Conversely, juveniles stay active longer than adults in high humidity (22 °C, RH 100%). A short period of starvation lengthened the time needed for the juveniles to become active after dormancy, possibly indicating a different response between adults and juveniles to lack of nutritional reserves. These behavioural differences to food availability and the risk of water loss correspond to the microhabitat differences observed between adults and juveniles in the wild.

Changes in migration, carry-over effects, and migratory connectivity

2019 ◽  
pp. 93-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Ambrosini ◽  
Andrea Romano ◽  
Nicola Saino
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Migratory Connectivity ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Annual Life Cycle ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
Timing Of Migration ◽  
Tropical Areas ◽  
Carry Over

Studies of the timing (phenology) of bird migration provided some of the first evidence for the effects of climate change on organisms. Since the rate of climate change is uneven across the globe, with northern latitudes experiencing faster warming trends than tropical areas, animals moving across latitudes are subject to diverging trends of climate change at different stages of their annual life cycle, and, consequently, they can become mistimed with the local ecological conditions, with potentially negative effects on population size. This chapter reviews the modifications induced by climate change in different migration traits, like the timing of migration events, the distribution of organisms, and the direction and the speed of movements. It also considers the effects of ecological carry-over effects and migratory connectivity on the response of birds to climate change.

scholarly journals Serine 229 Balances the Hepatitis C Virus Nonstructural Protein NS5A between Hypo- and Hyperphosphorylated States

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Ni Tsai ◽  
Ting-Chun Pan ◽  
Cho-Han Chiang ◽  
Chun-Chiao Yu ◽  
Shih-Han Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Hepatitis C Virus ◽  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Nonstructural Protein ◽  
Feedback Regulation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Serine Residue ◽  
Large Structures ◽  
Phosphorylation Level ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACT The nonstructural protein NS5A of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a phosphorylated protein that is indispensable for viral replication and assembly. We previously showed that NS5A undergoes sequential serine S232/S235/S238 phosphorylation resulting in NS5A transition from a hypo- to a hyperphosphorylated state. Here, we studied functions of S229 with a newly generated antibody specific to S229 phosphorylation. In contrast to S232, S235, or S238 phosphorylation detected only in the hyperphosphorylated NS5A, S229 phosphorylation was found in both hypo- and hyperphosphorylated NS5A, suggesting that S229 phosphorylation initiates NS5A sequential phosphorylation. Immunoblotting showed an inverse relationship between S229 phosphorylation and S235 phosphorylation. When S235 was phosphorylated as in the wild-type NS5A, the S229 phosphorylation level was low; when S235 could not be phosphorylated as in the S235A mutant NS5A, the S229 phosphorylation level was high. These results suggest an intrinsic feedback regulation between S229 phosphorylation and S235 phosphorylation. It has been known that NS5A distributes in large static and small dynamic intracellular structures and that both structures are required for the HCV life cycle. We found that S229A or S229D mutation was lethal to the virus and that both increased NS5A in large intracellular structures. Similarly, the lethal S235A mutation also increased NS5A in large structures. Likewise, the replication-compromised S235D mutation also increased NS5A in large structures, albeit to a lesser extent. Our data suggest that S229 probably cycles through phosphorylation and dephosphorylation to maintain a delicate balance of NS5A between hypo- and hyperphosphorylated states and the intracellular distribution necessary for the HCV life cycle. IMPORTANCE This study joins our previous efforts to elucidate how NS5A transits between hypo- and hyperphosphorylated states via phosphorylation on a series of highly conserved serine residues. Of the serine residues, serine 229 is the most interesting since phosphorylation-mimicking and phosphorylation-ablating mutations at this serine residue are both lethal. With a new high-quality antibody specific to serine 229 phosphorylation, we concluded that serine 229 must remain wild type so that it can dynamically cycle through phosphorylation and dephosphorylation that govern NS5A between hypo- and hyperphosphorylated states. Both are required for the HCV life cycle. When phosphorylated, serine 229 signals phosphorylation on serine 232 and 235 in a sequential manner, leading NS5A to the hyperphosphorylated state. As serine 235 phosphorylation is reached, serine 229 is dephosphorylated, stopping signal for hyperphosphorylation. This balances NS5A between two phosphorylation states and in intracellular structures that warrant a productive HCV life cycle.

A taxonomic review of the Margarodoid genus Stigmacoccus Hempel  (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea: Stigmacoccidae), with some details on their biology

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1507 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS HODGSON ◽  
HEATHER GAMPER ◽  
AMAURI BOGO ◽  
GILLIAN WATSON
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Scale Insect ◽  
Present Knowledge ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Undescribed Species ◽  
Annual Life Cycle ◽  
Honey Production ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
The Family

Stigmacoccus is an unusual scale insect genus from Central and South America that has been little studied. It belongs to the family Stigmacoccidae within the archaeococcoid group of genera which used to comprise the family Margarodidae (Morrison, 1927) but which are now considered to represent at least 9 families. The present paper describes or redescribes the adult females, adult males, cyst stages and crawlers of the three known species (S. asper, S. garmilleri, and S. paranaensis), plus the prepupa of S. garmilleri and S. paranaensis, and (briefly), the pupa of S. paranaensis. It is considered that the female has two cyst stage instars; the number in the male is uncertain. Adult female S. asper and S. paranaensis appear to have groups of loculate pores on the walls of the vagina. A lectotype for S. asper is designated. In addition, cyst stages of three further undescribed species are described (but not formally named) and illustrated. Some observations on the biology and life cycle are also included. The honeydew of Stigmacoccus species has been shown to be an important energy source for overwintering passerine birds which defend this resource. A summary of our present knowledge is presented, including how the honedew is eliminated (through a long anal tube) and details are given with regard to rates of honeydew flow, sugar concentration, cyst densities and annual timing of peak flows. The annual life cycle, as far as it is known, is discussed. It is concluded that this honeydew could be economically important as a source of sugar for honey production but this would need to be carefully managed to maintain an ecological balance.

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