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Comparison of reproductive characteristics among populations of Dendropoma petraeum-complex (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda), an endemic Mediterranean reef-building vermetid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2011

Sima Usvyatsov*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick (Saint John), PO Box 5050, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4L5, Canada
Bella S. Galil
Affiliation:
National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, POB 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S. Usvyatsov, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick (Saint John), PO Box 5050, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4L5, Canada email: [email protected]

Abstract

We examined the density and reproductive characteristics of the Israeli population of the cryptic species complex Dendropoma petraeum—a Mediterranean endemic reef-building gastropod. The population is gonochoristic, with a peak of gonad activity from October–November to May–June. We present here for the first time histological evidence of its reproductive cycles, hermaphroditism and gonadal parasitic infestation. The characteristics studied (gonad activity period, number of egg capsules per female, capsule size and number of eggs/embryos per capsule) were markedly different from those reported for the D. petraeum-complex population in south-east Spain. Our findings on the population's reproductive characteristics provide new information on the differences between the Mediterranean populations of D. petraeum-complex.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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