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The false limpet Siphonaria gigas, a simultaneous hermaphrodite, lives in pairs in rock fissures on the Pacific coast of Panama

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Abstract

The pulmonate limpet Siphonaria gigas, a simultaneous hermaphrodite, lives in the mid- to upper-intertidal zone on rocky shores in the tropical Eastern Pacific. Samples along five transects taken in June–July, 2004, on Culebra Point (8º54′N to 79º31′W), Republic of Panama, showed that 71 % of the population occurred in fissures, a significant preference for this habitat. Of 200 adults in 27 fissures, 150 lived side by side in pairs with their shells touching or nearly so, a significant deviation from the number of pairs expected given a random arrangement. Pair frequency did not increase with limpet density suggesting pairing was not an incidental consequence of crowding. Pair living was unknown in the genus Siphonaria, and is very uncommon among simultaneous hermaphrodites. Reproductive synchrony and restrictions on movement due to predation and environmental stress may limit opportunities for encountering and mating with multiple partners favoring pair living in S. gigas.

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Acknowledgments

Our gratitude goes to Malina Lopez and Pedro Zevallos for their kind hospitality, to Rebecca Rissanen for assistance in the field, and to The Culebra Nature Center staff for their cooperation and support. This work was supported by a short-term Fellowship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute awarded to R. C. Lombardo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology and Biodiversity, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3–1–1 Minato, Hakodate, 041–8611, Hokkaido, Japan

    Roberto C. Lombardo

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Apartado, 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá

    John H. Christy

  3. Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, P.O. Box 6850, Fullerton, CA, 92834-6850, USA

    Roberto Cipriani

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  1. Roberto C. Lombardo
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  2. John H. Christy
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  3. Roberto Cipriani
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Correspondence to John H. Christy.

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Communicated by J. P. Grassle.

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Lombardo, R.C., Christy, J.H. & Cipriani, R. The false limpet Siphonaria gigas, a simultaneous hermaphrodite, lives in pairs in rock fissures on the Pacific coast of Panama. Mar Biol 160, 729–735 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2127-y

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