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Thermoregulatory Behavior in the Tropical Periwinkle Planaxis sulcatus

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Abstract

The tropical periwinkle Planaxis sulcatus (Born, 1778) forms randomly distributed, pyramid-shaped clusters on an intertidal mudflat in eastern Bahrain during the summer. Periwinkle pyramids are observed only on the lower section of the mudflat, where the maximum temperature of the surficial mud is less than about 40 °C, while the upper portion of the mudflat, which experiences temperatures > 52 °C, is barren of gastropods. The periwinkle perched at the apex of the pyramid experiences a temperature that as much as 4° lower than that of the surficial mud. Because we did not observe pyramid-building behavior among Gulf periwinkles during winter, we conclude that pyramid-building behavior in P. sulcatus is a thermoregulatory adaptation.

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Acknowledgements

The Deanship of Scientific Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, funded the current research through Project IN161002. We thank Andrea M. Garrison and Robert L. Johnson for assistance in the field. We are grateful to Brent Wilson (University of the West Indies), Abduljamiu Amao (KFUPM), Flavia Fiorini (Khalifa University, U.A.E.), and an anonymous reviewer for reading a draft of the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geosciences Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Michael A. Kaminski

  2. Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Thomas F. Garrison

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  1. Michael A. Kaminski
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  2. Thomas F. Garrison
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Correspondence to Michael A. Kaminski.

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Kaminski, M.A., Garrison, T.F. Thermoregulatory Behavior in the Tropical Periwinkle Planaxis sulcatus. Arab J Sci Eng 45, 4817–4822 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04300-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04300-z

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