Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T07:44:11.879Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The biology of Barleeia unifasciata (Gastropoda:Prosobranchia) in red algal turfs in S.W. Ireland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

T. Southgate
Affiliation:
Zoology Department, University College, Cork, Ireland

Extract

Variation in the abundance of Barleeia unifasciata is compared in several red algal species between June 1978 and June 1980 at Cooskeen Cove, Bantry Bay, Ireland. Population abundance in all algae varied seasonally, exhibiting a cycle of late-summer to autumn maxima, with winter to early summer minima. Greatest abundance was recorded in those algae which formed compact turf-like growths suitable for the entrapment of diatoms and detrital material and provided greatest shelter from wave-crash. Length frequency data showed the main recruitment period to be late June-October with a peak in August with juveniles present in all months of the year. Maximum life span was shown to be 2 years or more with only 15 % of the population surviving into the second year. Sexual development and reproductive cycle was determined for 0 + and 1 + animals. Mature males produced sperm continuously throughout the year. Not all 0 + females spawned in their first year. Summer spawning 0 + females exhibited reduced sexual activity in October and spawned again in the following summer. Some 1 + females spawned in winter and spring. Delayed sexual development in some individuals of both sexes was related to late hatching.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Feare, C. J., 1970. The reproductive cycle of the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus (L.). Proceedings of Malacological Society of London, 39, 125138.Google Scholar
Fretter, V. & Graham, A., 1978. The prosobranch molluscs of Britain and Denmark. Part 4 – Marine Rissoacea. Journal of Molluscan Studies, suppl. 6, 153241.Google Scholar
Graham, A., 1955. Molluscan diets. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 31, 144159.Google Scholar
Lebour, M. V., 1934. Rissoid larvae as food of the young herring. The eggs and larvae of the Plymouth Rissoidae. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 19, 523539.Google Scholar
Lebour, M. V., 1937. The egg and larvae of the British prosobranchs with special reference to those living in the plankton. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 22, 105166.Google Scholar
Myers, A. A. & Southgate, T., 1980. Artificial substrates as a means of monitoring rocky shore cryptofauna. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 60, 963975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordsieck, F., 1972. Die europäischen Meereschnecken (Opisthobranchia mit Pyramidellidae; Rissoacea). xiii, 327 pp. Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag.Google Scholar
Smith, S. M., 1975. Marine recorders report. Journal of Conchology, 28, 391394.Google Scholar
Stickle, W. B., 1973. The reproductive physiology of the intertidal prosobranch Thais lamellosa (Gmelin). Seasonal changes in the rate of oxygen consumption and body component indices. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass., 144, 511524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, A. J., 1972. Observations on the reproductive cycles of Monodonta lineata, Gibbula umbilicalis, and G. cineraria. Marine Biology, 17, 333340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, E. E., 1964. The growth and distribution of Gibbula umbilicalis (da Costa) on a rocky shore in Wales. Journal of Animal Ecology, 33, 433442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, E. E., 1965. The growth and distribution of Monodonta lineata (da Costa) on a rocky shore in Wales. Field Studies, 2, 189198.Google Scholar