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The relationship between freezing and desiccation tolerance in the marine snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Stimpson)

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Abstract

Temperature acclimation influenced the desiccation tolerance of the marine snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Nassarius obsoletus). I. obsoleta acclimated to 35‰ seawater at 18°C could survive for 116 hours, and tolerate a 57% loss of body water when desiccated at 15 °C in air with a relative humidity of 35%. In contrast, I. obsoleta acclimated to 3°C seawater survived for only 76 hours, and could not tolerate more than a 37% loss of body water. These results were used to support the proposition that freezing and desiccation tolerance are closely related in I. obsoleta.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 14642, Rochester, New York

    Dennis J. Murphy

  2. Department of Zoology, Connecticut College, 06320, New London, Connecticut

    Ellen McCausland

Authors
  1. Dennis J. Murphy
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  2. Ellen McCausland
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Additional information

This research was supported by a Cottrell College Science Grant from the Research Corporation in New York and N.I.E.H.S. Toxicology Training Grant ESO 7026.

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Murphy, D.J., McCausland, E. The relationship between freezing and desiccation tolerance in the marine snail Ilyanassa obsoleta (Stimpson). Estuaries 3, 318–320 (1980). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352088

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