Analysis on feeding behaviour of two sympatric species of nassariid gastropods, Cyclope neritea and Nassarius pfeifferi, from Cadiz Bay (SW Spain).
-
1
Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain
The nassariid gastropods show a wide adaptive radiation in terms of behaviour, particularly in relation to food, including long distance food detection, fast locomotion towards it, and rapid consumption of an enormous amount relative to its body weight. Nassariidae species live buried in the sediment and present and olfactory mechanisms well developed. When detect the food source, the snails emerge from substrate and move toward the food. The emersion exposes snails to potential predators, so when finished feed, they hide again quickly.
Cadiz Bay (SW Spain) is divided into 2 basins, a shallow inner bay and smaller and a deeper outer bay. The subtidal and lower intertidal area of inner bay are covered by a extensive beds of macrophytes (Zostera marina, Z. noltii, and Cymodocea nodosa) and macroalgae (Caulerpa prolifera, Ulva sp) whereas in the rest of the intertidal area bare sediment is characteristic. In this environment, coexist two species of nassariids, Cyclope neritea and Nassarius pfeifferi. Both populations are abundant, and with ecological niches bind in the same puddles at low tide. This suggests that both taxa are sympatric species and interspecific competition for space and food could occur between them.
The main goal of this experiment was to evaluate the feeding behaviour of the gastropods Nassarius pfeifferi and Cyclope neritea on a laboratory assay. This study also aimed to test whether there are or not interaction or interspecific competition between both species.
Gastropod specimens were collected in the intertidal zone of inner bay of Cadiz Bay (SW Spain) and acclimated to laboratory conditions for 72h before starting the experiments. Four assays of 100 minutes each were performed using tanks with a surface of 50x30 cm provided with sand, previously cleaned of organic material, and filtered sea water. At each tank fifteen specimens of C. neritea or N. pfeifferi were introduced. For each assay were assigned five treatment which consisted in 5 gr of: injured specimens of C. neritea, injured specimens of N. pfeifferi, meat of Mytilus sp, Zostera sp or Ulva sp, randomly deposited on the sand. Every 5 min, over a period of 100 m, the number of C. neritea and N. pfeifferi feeding on the different resources and those that moved but without contact with the food source were counted.
The results show that either species ate Zostera, although specimens maintained active, moving on the sand, during a long period of the experiments. The same behaviour was observed in C. neritea with Ulva sp. Nevertheless, with this alga N. pfeifferi showed the greatest preference to food of all the treatments, maintaining almost all time eating on this alga. In tanks with pieces of Mytilus, both species had a first period of approximately 40 min in which gastropods fed carrion, descending quickly the interest for it. In the treatments with injured specimens of the same species, both taxa showed scarce activity.
Finally, when the resources offered were injured specimens of the other nassarid species, N. pfeifferi showed the same behaviour than in the tanks with injured conspecific specimens (scarce trophic activity), while C. neritea used injured N. pfeifferi as food, with similar trophic activity than when pieces of Mytilus were offered.
Our results suggest that using the same habitat, both species diverge in their feeding habits, This non-overlapping pattern of resource use, may be one reason to allow the co-existence of both species in the same environment.
Keywords:
feeding behaviour,
sympatric species,
Cyclope neritea,
Nassarius pfeifferi,
Cadiz Bay
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
Reyes Martinez
M,
Lare-David
I,
Montero-Hurtado
F,
Martinez-Pita
I and
García-García
FJ
(2016). Analysis on feeding behaviour of two sympatric species of nassariid gastropods, Cyclope neritea and Nassarius pfeifferi, from Cadiz Bay (SW Spain)..
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00169
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
29 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
PhD. Maria Jose Reyes Martinez, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain, mjreymar@gmail.com