Impact of Temperature Elevation on Seawater Snail Planaxis sulcatus

Abstract

To assess the effect of temperature on wet weight, shell length, and shell aperture of seawater snail Planaxis sulcatus, an experimental trial was conducted to examine 72 samples of this species. The specimens were collected from the area of Al-Rayis coast on the western side of Saudi Arabia and were divided into 3 groups; A, B, and C (24 snails/group). Group A was the control group. Group B was treated by increasing water temperature about 5°C above the control group, and about 10°C above the control group for group C. There were no significant differences in weekly wet weight measurements with respect to the intragroup comparison and the intergroup comparison of the three groups. However, regarding shield length, it increased at week 1 with a pairwise comparison of weekly records showing only a significant difference between the 1st week and that of the onset of the study in group A. While, in group B, results showed only a significant difference between week 3 and week 6, and no significant difference was detected in group C. In addition, no significant differences were recorded when the 3 groups’ shield lengths were compared. Hence, it is recommended to conduct complex experiments that depend on exposing snails to several climate change factors, such as increased acidity and salinity in addition to high temperature.