Heat production inLittorina saxatilis Olivi andLittorina neritoides L. (gastropoda: Prosobranchia) during an experimental exposure to air

Abstract

The adaptation of littorinid molluscs to prolonged aerial exposure was investigated by the determination of heat production.Littorina saxatilis, inhabiting the upper eulittoral, reached a maximum metabolic activity during submersion (heat production: 3.26×10⁻³J s⁻¹ (g_adw)⁻¹. On the first three days of desiccation, the heat production was continuously reduced to 40% of the submersed value. A prolonged aerial exposure was lethal for this species. In the supralittoralL. neritoides, three stages of energy metabolism could be observed: An intermediate heat production during submersion (1.97×10⁻³Js⁻¹ (g_adw)⁻¹), an increased metabolism during the first hour of aerial exposure (heat production 204% of submersed value), and a minimal metabolism (39% of the submersed value and 19% of maximum value) during the following days and weeks of desiccation. Recovery depended on water salinity;L. saxatilis proved to be less euryhaline thanL. neritoides. Thus, the metabolic adaptations correlate with the level of littoral habitat; inactivity combined with a drastically reduced energy consumption is a metabolically economic way to survive in periodically dry environments.