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Publication
First observations of hermaphroditism in the patellid limpet Patella piperata Gould, 1846
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Hermaphroditism is thought to be an advantageous strategy common in marine molluscs that
exhibit simultaneous, sequential or alternating hermaphroditism. Several species of patellid
limpets have previously been shown to be protandrous hermaphrodites. The present study
aimed to confirm whether this phenomenon occurs in Patella piperata. Transitional forms
of simultaneous protandrous hermaphroditism were found in intermediate size classes of P.
piperata, in Madeira (North-eastern Atlantic). Sequential hermaphroditism was confirmed
after histological analysis. The overall sex-ratio was biased towards females but approached
similar proportions in the larger size classes. Analysis of size at sex change showed that at
a shell length of 36 mm 50% of the population probably have changed sex. The results
reported confirm the occurrence of sequential hermaphroditism. These findings are of utmost
importance to the understanding of the reproductive biology of this species with direct effect
on management and conservation of this traditionally harvested limpet.
Description
Keywords
Atlantic Ocean Intertidal Madeira (Portugal) Mollusca Patellogastropoda Sex change . Faculdade de Ciências da Vida
Citation
Sousa, R., Henriques, P., Vasconcelos, J., Faria, G., Riera, R., Pinto, A. R., ... & Hawkins, S. J. (2019). First observations of hermaphroditism in the patellid limpet Patella piperata Gould, 1846. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 99(7), 1615-1620. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315419000559
Publisher
Cambridge University Press