Potential ZnS fossilization of gastropods (Middle Jurassic claystones from Central Poland)

The rich fossil fauna in the Middle Jurassic claystones that crop out in the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland is extensively replaced by sulfide minerals, mainly pyrite. Sphalerite (ZnS) is rare and restricted to the internal casts of gastropods, often together with framboidal and euhedral pyrite and calcite. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer study was undertaken to explain this curious association. The results show that although direct infilling of the carbonate shell, similar to processes occurring during pyritization, is probable, it does not explain all textures observed. We propose that the carbonate shells were initially infilled by calcite and iron sulfides and sphalerite subsequently replaced the calcite casts. Preferential occurrence of ZnS in gastropods could result from accumulation of higher concentration of zinc during the organisms' life. After death, this Zn was introduced into the carbonate making gastropods more prone to ZnS replacement. Formation of ZnS casts was probably a late diagenetic event as zinc content of the surrounding sediment does not appear to influence sphalerite formation.     

Multiple paternity and individual variation in sperm precedence in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum

Intraspecific variation in the proportion of offspring sired by the second mate with a female (P₂) is an aspect of sperm competition that has received little attention. I examined the effects of delay between copulations (range 9–380 days) and size of sperm donor on sperm precedence in double-mated individuals of the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum. Using shell colour as a genetic marker, paternity was analysed in 132 broods produced by 35 snails that had mated with two partners of different genotype. Sperm precedence (P₂) was influenced by the time between the two matings when the mating delay exceeded 70 days (one reproductive season). P2 averaged 0.34 in the first brood of snails that mated twice within 70 days indicating first mate sperm precedence. In contrast, P₂ averaged 0.76 in broods of snails that remated in the following season, indicating a decreased viability of sperm from the first mate. The size of sperm-donating individuals had no effect on the fertilization success of their sperm in the first brood produced after the second copulation. Analysis of long-term sperm utilization in 23 snails that laid three to nine egg batches over 2 years revealed striking differences among individuals. Five snails (21.7%) exhibited first-mate sperm precedence throughout, eight snails (34.8%) showed second-mate sperm precedence throughout, whereas ten snails (43.5%) exhibited sperm mixing in successive batches. It is suggested that the individual variation in sperm precedence in A. arbustorum may partly be due to differences in the amount of sperm transferred. Paternity analysis in 34 batches laid by 19 wild-caught individuals of A. arbustorum indicated that at least 12 snails (63.2%) used sperm from two or more mates for the fertilization of their eggs. This suggests a high incidence of multiple paternity in broods of A. arbustorum under field conditions.     

Accumulation of free and covalently bound microcystins in tissues of Lymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda) following toxic cyanobacteria or dissolved microcystin-LR exposure

Accumulation of free microcystins (MCs) in freshwater gastropods has been demonstrated but accumulation of MCs covalently bound to tissues has never been considered so far. Here, we follow the accumulation of total (free and bound) MCs in Lymnaea stagnalis exposed to i) dissolved MC-LR (33 and 100 μg L⁻¹) and ii) Planktothrix agardhii suspensions producing 5 and 33 μg MC-LR equivalents L⁻¹ over a 5-week period, and after a 3-week depuration period. Snails exposed to dissolved MC-LR accumulated up to 0.26 μg total MCs g⁻¹ dry weight (DW), with no detection of bound MCs. Snails exposed to MCs producing P. agardhii accumulated up to 69.9 μg total MCs g⁻¹ DW, of which from 17.7 to 66.7% were bound. After depuration, up to 15.3 μg g⁻¹ DW of bound MCs were detected in snails previously exposed to toxic cyanobacteria, representing a potential source of MCs transfer through the food web.     

Effects of management intensity on land snails in Swiss nutrient-poor pastures

The influence of management intensity on the richness, abundance and composition of land snail species was examined in 21 calcareous, nutrient-poor cattle pastures in the northwestern Jura mountains, Switzerland. Grazing intensity was positively correlated with the extent of fertilization of the pastures. Pastures without fertilizer application and with low grazing intensity harboured more snail species and more threatened snails than pastures with annual addition of manure or pastures with manure and nitrogen fertilizer and higher grazing intensity. Fewer snail individuals, open-land species and open-land individuals were found on pastures with high than on pastures with low management intensity. To preserve the threatened snail species in dry, nutrient-poor grasslands, a network of pastures should be managed without fertilization and grazing intensity should not exceed 180 LU ha⁻¹ d (product of livestock units per hectare and grazing days).     

Changes in cell-type composition in digestive gland of slugs and its influence in biomarkers following transplantation between a relatively unpolluted and a chronically metal-polluted site

Changes in cell-type composition (CCTC) is a general phenomenon that takes place in the digestive gland epithelium of stressed molluscs. The aim of the present work was to determine whether CCTC is a reversible process in the digestive gland of sentinel slugs chronically exposed to metal pollution and how CCTC affects metal accumulation parameters and different cell and tissue biomarkers of exposure and effect. Slugs (Arion ater) from an abandoned zinc mine were transferred to a relatively unpolluted site and the other way around for 3, 10 and 28 d. The volume density of black silver deposits (Vv_BSD) after autometallography, and metallothionein (MT) levels were used as biomarkers of exposure to metals and CCTC and lysosomal responses were selected as effect biomarkers. Results indicated that slugs were sensitive to recent metal pollution; however, slugs chronically exposed to metals presented some characteristic features and were less responsive to pollution cessation without signs of CCTC reversal.     

Arsenobetaine and thio-arsenic species in marine macroalgae and herbivorous animals: Accumulated through trophic transfer or produced in situ?

Arsenobetaine(AB) and thio-arsenoribosides were measured in common macroalgae species(8 phaeophyta, 4 rhodophyta and 2 chlorphyta), along the Australian south east coast line. As well, arsenic species profiles were measured for two common marine herbivores, the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii and the fish Odax cyanomelas that graze on these macroalgae to understand if trophic transfer of these species would account for their presence in marine herbivores. AB was found in seven of the fourteen macroalgae species investigated but does not contributed significantly to any of the macroalgae arsenic content(0.01-1.2 μg/g). AB was found in only two of the brown macroalgae and all the red and green macroalgae(with the exception of Corallina officinalis). Thio-arsenic species were found sporadically, but not in high concentrations in any of the macroalgae investigated.AB present in macroalgae is likely to be associated with epiphytic organisms while thio-arsenoribosides are likely to be produced by decaying parts of damaged macroalgae.A laboratory feeding experiment in which the herbivorous gastropod, Austrocochlea constricta, was fed macroalgae containing thio-arsenoribosides for a 24 hr period every three days showed that these are readily accumulated over a short period. Thio-arsenoribosides in herbivores are therefore probably obtained through trophic transfer. Some AB is also obtained through trophic transfer; however, the presence of trimethylated arsonioribosides,a hypothesized precursor of AB formation in herbivores, suggests that some AB is produced within herbivores from the transformation of arsenoribosides accumulated from their diet.