Preliminary data on Littorina littorea development under rearing conditions
The periwinkle Littorina littorea (L.) is a common prosobranch gastropod at the North Atlantic coasts, ranging from Greenland to New Jersey in America and, from Portugal to the White Sea in Europe (Johannesson, 1988). It presents a planktonic development; females release planktonic egg capsules that...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00029 https://doaj.org/article/b6a1d027f1104a07ad95415756c0cabb |
| Summary: | The periwinkle Littorina littorea (L.) is a common prosobranch gastropod at the North Atlantic coasts, ranging from Greenland to New Jersey in America and, from Portugal to the White Sea in Europe (Johannesson, 1988). It presents a planktonic development; females release planktonic egg capsules that are pelagic, asymmetrically biconvex with a flat peripheral rim. The egg capsules contain a maximum of nine eggs (Linke, 1933); more commonly, they contain one to three (Cummins et al, 2002). Upon release, the egg capsules swell osmotically and burst after five to six days. Each egg hatches into a free swimming veliger larva and remains in this planktonic stage for six to seven weeks (Fish, 1979). At hatching larvae measure about 180 micrometers long and are competent to settle after spending 2-6 weeks in the plankton and reaching about 300-360 micrometers in length (Hohenlohe, 2002). Metamorphosis may be delayed if conditions are not suitable and it results in considerable variation of settlement times, with larvae settling on the shore throughout several months of the year. Adults of L. littorea species are ecologically similar, so this genus is a potential model system for testing the hypothesis that gene flow among populations should be higher in species with planktonic larvae because of their greater dispersal capacity (Jablonski and Lutz, 1983). L. littorea is of economic interest in Portugal where it is highly appreciated as shellfish food, being the peak season of consumption in summer. Since the local production is not sufficient to meet demand, it has been necessary to import stocks from abroad (mainly from Scotland and Ireland) in order to satisfy market needs. For this reason, the development of strategies to produce L. littorea in Portugal is crucial. This work aims to determine basic rearing conditions and obtain data on L. littorea larval development and growth rate. These results are important to establish the conditions for cultivating larvae of this species, as well as to access its feasibility ... |
|---|