Meeting Abstract
Many organisms synchronize reproduction with environmental cycles in order to avoid unfavorable environmental conditions, coordinate timing of reproductive cycles, make use of periodically available resources, and avoid periods of high predation risk. Oviposition and larval hatching commonly follow both annual or seasonal cycles as well as lunar or tidal cycles. Tropical intertidal habitats are well known to undergo drastic physical changes through the daily tidal cycle, but annual cycles are less well-documented. We monitored egg capsule deposition and hatching of the intertidal snail Nerita scabricosta in permanent quadrats in 24 tidal pools on the high intertidal of the Pacific coast of Panama. Capsule counts from 2011-2014 show a clear seasonal pattern of reproduction, with oviposition occurring during the rainy season from May-December. The rank oviposition preference among the pools were consistent among years, with some pools showing earlier appearance of capsules, and higher density of capsules compared to other pools. This preference may be related to pool morphology and physical characteristics of the quadrats.
