This study reports how the reproductive cycle of a land snail endemic from an oceanic island is shaped by abiotic factors over an altitudinal gradient of 800 m. In addition, the validity of two morphometric shell para...This study reports how the reproductive cycle of a land snail endemic from an oceanic island is shaped by abiotic factors over an altitudinal gradient of 800 m. In addition, the validity of two morphometric shell parameters （maximum diameter and total height） was assessed, as maturation diagnostic characteristics. The authors＇ findings suggest that, at Piedade （200 m）, individuals are active and mature from October/November to March, and they exhibit dormancy in the remaining months, as a consequence of soil dryness. Thus, at low altitude, gonadal maturation was considered to be primarily influenced by photoperiod, rainfall and temperature At Cabeqo da Bola （1000 m）, in turn, individuals are mature from March to July/August and they seem to have minimal gametogenic conditions throughout the remaining months of the year to reproduce. As soil moisture is never a limiting factor, gonadal maturation is mainly shaped by photoperiod and temperature at high altitude. The morphometric shell parameters under analysis were unable to diagnose gonadal maturation, as recently described for related Azorean species.展开更多
文摘This study reports how the reproductive cycle of a land snail endemic from an oceanic island is shaped by abiotic factors over an altitudinal gradient of 800 m. In addition, the validity of two morphometric shell parameters （maximum diameter and total height） was assessed, as maturation diagnostic characteristics. The authors＇ findings suggest that, at Piedade （200 m）, individuals are active and mature from October/November to March, and they exhibit dormancy in the remaining months, as a consequence of soil dryness. Thus, at low altitude, gonadal maturation was considered to be primarily influenced by photoperiod, rainfall and temperature At Cabeqo da Bola （1000 m）, in turn, individuals are mature from March to July/August and they seem to have minimal gametogenic conditions throughout the remaining months of the year to reproduce. As soil moisture is never a limiting factor, gonadal maturation is mainly shaped by photoperiod and temperature at high altitude. The morphometric shell parameters under analysis were unable to diagnose gonadal maturation, as recently described for related Azorean species.
