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Predation by neogastropods on Turbo cornutus juveniles and other small gastropods inhabiting coralline algal turfs

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Abstract

To understand the effects of predation by gastropods on juveniles of the Japanese spiny turban snail Turbo cornutus, a field survey and laboratory experiments were conducted. The species compositions of the order Neogastropoda inside turfs of articulated coralline algae (ACA) on the east coast of Sagami Bay were surveyed monthly, and the dominant species inside the ACA turfs were identified. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effects of predation by the dominant neogastropods on small gastropods in ACA turfs. Turban snails, which inhabit ACA turfs during their juvenile stages, were predated by two muricid gastropods, Ergalatax contractus and Thais bronni, with the predation rate of E. contractus being significantly higher than that of T. bronni. While E. contractus could also predate two other species of gastropods, Anachis misera and Cantharidus japonicus, the predation rates on these two snails were significantly lower than on T. cornutus. The observed defensive behaviors were different among the three prey species, and the defensive strategy related to the calcified operculum of T. cornutus was not efficient against predation by E. contractus. It is concluded that the predation by E. contractus represents an important factor in the mortality of juvenile turban snails inside ACA turfs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the staff of the Nagasaki Prefectural Institute of Fisheries for their cooperation in rearing larvae and juveniles of turban snails. We are also grateful to the staff of the National Research Institute of Fisheries Science for their kind help in carrying out the experiments. This research was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to T. Kawamura (no. 20380108). J. Hayakawa was also financially supported by a research fellowship from JSPS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arasaki Marine Biological Station, National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Fisheries Research Agency, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 238-0316, Japan

    Jun Hayakawa & Hiroaki Kurogi

  2. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Tomohiko Kawamura, Naoya Ohtsuchi & Yoshiro Watanabe

  3. Nagasaki Prefectural Institute of Fisheries, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, 1551-4, Japan

    Satoshi Ohashi

Authors
  1. Jun Hayakawa
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  2. Tomohiko Kawamura
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  3. Satoshi Ohashi
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  4. Naoya Ohtsuchi
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  5. Hiroaki Kurogi
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  6. Yoshiro Watanabe
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Correspondence to Jun Hayakawa.

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Hayakawa, J., Kawamura, T., Ohashi, S. et al. Predation by neogastropods on Turbo cornutus juveniles and other small gastropods inhabiting coralline algal turfs. Fish Sci 78, 309–325 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-012-0467-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-012-0467-7

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