Mortality and Mate-Searching Behavior in Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae)
Pomacea canaliculata is a South American freshwater snail which is well known as a pest of aquatic crops and a driver of ecosystem changes in natural wetlands. This has made it a model for ecological studies. However, fundamental aspects of their biology, such as the factors that affect their survival, remain little explored. Recent studies suggest that males may maintain high levels of mate-searching activity even under fasting conditions, jeopardizing their survival. The aims of this study were to analyse the survival of P. canaliculata snails in presence of a congener of the same or different sex and to look for changes in the activity patterns related to the search for a mate that could reduce its survival. A lower survival was found in males, without being able to demonstrate that this is affected by the sex of the congener with whom they shared an aquarium. No differences in activity (mean speed, maximum speed or explored surface) were observed depending on the sex of the pair assigned to the experimental snail. The lower survival of males is not related to higher levels of activity and is probably due to physiological differences between the sexes. The absence of behavioural differences in relation to the sex of the couple seems to be explained by an unexpected state of post-reproductive arrest. This study can be considered as a description of normal activity levels and studies of a broader time scale may be necessary to detect whether sexual behaviour can alter their survival.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Fundación Miguel Lillo
2023
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| Online Access: | https://www.lillo.org.ar/journals/index.php/acta-zoologica-lilloana/article/view/1707 |
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