New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts

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Activity and food intake of captive Placostylus fibratus (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) in New Caledonia

MICHEL SALAS
CYRIL BONNAUT
SEBASTIEN LE BEL
LAURENT CHARDONNET

CIRAD-EMVT
B.P. 25, 98890 Païta
Nouvelle-Calédonie

Abstract  Placostylus fibratus is an endemic endangered species from New Caledonia. This snail is favoured as food, and the harvests for consumption from the wild population increase alarmingly. Thus, local authorities decided to promote research into the rearing methods for P. fibratus. Sixty-three snails from the Isle of Pines, divided into five groups, were subjected to different temperatures (20, 25, and 30deg.C) and humidities (80 +/- 5% and 95 +/- 5%) and constant light conditions (12 h:12 h photoperiod). The variables measured were activity levels (percent active animals, i.e. outside the shell) and daily food intake rate (DFIR, in milligrams dry matter per gram of live snail weight). The average proportion of active animals throughout the experiment amounted to 14.3%, with an average DFIR of 1.61 mg/g. P. fibratus were more active (and consumed more) at lower temperatures and higher humidity levels. From 20 to 30deg.C the activity level dropped from 24.9 to 6.5% and DFIR from 2.7 to 0.33 mg/g (adjusted averages). Overall, P. fibratus seemed capable of tolerating average temperatures (in the region of 25deg.C) if humidity was high. However, around 30deg.C they became almost completely inactive, regardless of humidity. The light/dark regime had a very limited impact on the variables under examination, and P. fibratus' nocturnal behaviour in the wild is likely to be explained by the need for favourable temperature and humidity levels.

Keywords  land snail; Placostylus fibratus; biology; ecology; snail farming; New Caledonia

Received 15 April 1996; accepted 19 December 1996

New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1997, Vol. 24: 257-264

0301-4223/2403-0257 $7.00/0   (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1997

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (964K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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