Individual growth of Lymnaea stagnalis (Lymnaeidae, Gastropoda): II. Late postlarval ontogeny

Abstract

Our investigation on the growth of 14 individuals of the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis was performed in an aquatic culture at 18 degrees C beginning from the 10th week after hatching until death. It has been demonstrated that the increase in the mollusk mass follows an S-like curve during the whole studied period. Linear growth (conch height) follows a parabolic (convex) curve until the age of 39 weeks. Both weight and linear growth during studied period significantly approximate to the Bertalanffy equation, while the interrelation between mass and conch height corresponds to the allometric equation. The meanings of the coefficients of these equations do not differ significantly in different individuals. At the age of 38 to 39 weeks, all mollusks demonstrate breakage in the curve of linear growth, then followed with abrupt slowing of growth until stopping or even decreasing in size in some cases. Neither the Bertalanffy equation nor the allometric relation describe the linear growth of individuals with ages exceeding 39 weeks.