Abstract
Monodonta labio (Gastropoda: Trochidae) occurs in a wide tidal zone on a boulder-covered shore in Amakusa, Japan. To investigate sources of variation in reproductive output within a population, the fecundity ofM. labio was estimated. Regressions of gonad egg counts on shell width were calculated from samples collected bi-weekly at three tidal zones: high, mid and low intertidal. Seasonal fluctuations in the regression revealed that individual females spawn at least three times a year. Variation in fecundity between the three tidal zones was not detected at any time in standard 12 mm snails. Due to the high growth rate in the low zone during the reproductive season, annual fecundity in the low zone was larger than that in the high and mid zones. Thus, tidal zone variation in fecundity ofM. labio was a result of growth variation between tidal zones.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bode A., Lombas I. &Anadon N. (1986) Preliminary studies on the reproduction and population dynamics ofMonodonta lineata andGibbula umbilicalis (Mollusca, Gastropoda) on the central coast of Asturias (N. Spain).Hydrobiologia 142: 31–39
Bosman A. L. &Hockey P. A. R. (1988) Life-history patterns of populations of the limpetPatella granularis: the dominant roles of food supply and mortality rate.Oecologia 75: 412–419.
Branch G. M. (1974) The ecology ofPatella Linnaeus from the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. 2. Reproductive cycles.Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 41: 111–165.
Branch G. M. (1975) Intraspecific competition inPatella cochlea.Journal of Animal Ecology 44: 263–281.
Branch G. M. (1981) The ecology of limpets: physical factors, energy flow, and ecological interactions.Oceanography and Marine Biology: Annual Review 19: 235–380.
Creese R. G. (1980) Reproductive cycles and fecundities of four common eastern Australian archaeogastropod limpets (Mollusca: Gastropoda).Australian Journal of Marine and Fresbwater Research 31: 49–59.
Creese R. G. &Ballantine W. J. (1983) An assessment of breeding in the intertidal limpet,Cellana radians (Gmelin).Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 67: 43–59.
Daguzan J. (1991) Recherches sur la croissance et l'écologie deMonodonta lineata (da Costa) (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia, Trochidae) viviant sur littoral Atlantique armoricain.Cabiers de Biologie Marine 32: 3–22.
Etter R. J. (1989) Life history variation in the intertidal snailNucella lapillus across a wave-exposure gradient.Ecology 70: 1857–1876.
Fletcher W. J. (1984a) Variability in the reproductive effort of the limper,Cellana tramoserica.Oecologia 61: 259–264.
Fletcher W. J. (1984b) Intraspecific variation in the population dynamics and growth of the limpet,Cellana tramoserica. Oecologia 63: 110–121.
Fretter V. &Graham A. (1962)British Prosobranch Molluscs. Ray Society, London, 755pp.
Garwood P. R. &Kendall M. A. (1985) The reproductive cycles ofMonodonta lineata andGibbula umbilicalis on the coast of mid-Wales.Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 65: 993–1008.
Grahame J. &Branch G. M. (1985) Reproductive patterns of marine invertebrates.Oceanography and Marine Biology: Annual Review 23: 373–398.
Kojima K. (1962) On the spawning of a top-shell,Monodonta labio (Linne).Venus 22: 200–203.
Lasiak T. (1987) The reproductive cycles of three trochid gastropods from the Transkei coast, Southern Africa.Journal of Molluscan Studies 53: 24–32.
Lasiak T. (1990) Asynchronous reproductive activity in the broadcast spawnerCellana capensis (Gmelin, 1791) (Gastropoda: Patellidae).Journal of Molluscan Studies 56: 69–81.
Lewis J. R. (1986) Latitudinal trends in reproduction, recruitment and population characteristics of some rocky littoral molluscs and cirripedes.Hydrobiologia 142: 1–13.
Mori K. &Tanaka M. (1989) Intertidal community structures and environmental conditions of exposed and sheltered rocky shores in Amakusa, Japan.Publications from Amakusa Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyushu University 10: 41–64.
Nakano D. &Nagoshi M. (1984) Growth and death in an intertidal population ofMonodonta labio (Linnaeus), (Prosobranchia, Trochidae).Venus 43: 60–71 (in Japanese with English summary).
Quinn G. P. (1988) Ecology of the intertidal plumonate limpetSiphonaria diemenensis Quoy et Gaimard. II. Reproductive patterns and energetics.Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 117: 137–156.
Snedecor G. W. &Cochran W. G. (1989)Statistical Methods. Iowa State University Press, Iowa, 503pp.
Sokal R. R. &Rohlf F. J. (1981)Biometry. Freeman, New York, 859pp.
Sumikawa S. (1955) Longevity of a gastropod,Monodonta labio (Linne), in Hakata Bay.Science and Human Life, Fukuoka Women University 3: 75–82 (in Japanese with English summary).
Sumikawa S. (1958) On the seasonal changes in gonad ofMonodonta labio L., with special reference to ovary.Science and Human Life, Fukuoka Women University 4: 63–87 (in Japanese with English summary).
Sumikawa S. (1963) Comparative physiological and ecological studies on the useful gastropods and lamellibranch. I. Histological studies on the seasonal changes of the gonad.Science and Human Life, Fukuoka Women University 6 11–49 (in Japanese with English summary).
Sumikawa S. (1965) Hermaphroditism inMonodonta labio L.Science and Human Life, Fukuoka Women University 6: 19–23 (in Japanese with English summary).
Sutherland J. P. (1970) Dynamics of high and low populations of the limpet.Acmaea scabra (Gould).Ecological monographs 40: 169–188.
Takada Y. (1992) Tide level variation of morph frequency and size structure inMonodonta labio (Gastropoda: Trochidae) at several boulder shores in Amakusa.Venus 51: 187–195.
Takada Y. (1995) Variation of growth rate with tidal level in the gastropodMonodonta labio on a boulder shore.Marine Ecology Progress Series 117: 103–110.
Takada Y. (1996) Vertical migration during the life history of the intertidal gastropodMonodonta labio on a boulder shore.Marine Ecology Progress Series 130: 117–123.
Takada Y. &Kikuchi T. (1990) Mobile molluscan communities in boulder shores and the comparison with other intertidal habitats in Amakusa.Publications from Amakusa Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyushu University 10: 145–168.
Underwood A. J. (1972) Observations on the reproductive cycles ofMonodonta lineata, Gibbula umbilicalis andG. cineraria.Marine Biology 17: 333–340.
Underwood A. J. (1974) The reproductive cycles and geographical distribution of some common Eastern Australian prosobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda).Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 25: 63–68.
Underwood A. J. (1979) The ecology of intertidal gastropods.Advances in Marine Biology 16: 111–210.
Underwood A. J. &Fairweather P. G. (1989) Supplyside ecology and benthic marine assemblages.Trends in Ecology and Evolution 4: 16–20.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Takada, Y. Vertical variation in fecundity of the intertidal gastropodMonodonta labio caused by different growth rates between tidal zones. Ecol. Res. 11, 371–379 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347794
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347794