Abstract
Inbreeding depression was studied in the outcrossing hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum, by comparing the reproductive performance of full-sib pairs (inbreeding) and pairs of unrelated individuals (outbreeding). Fecundity (number of eggs laid) was not found to differ significantly between inbreeding and outbreeding pairs under laboratory conditions, but fertility (the proportion of eggs that hatched) and the number of hatchlings produced by inbreeding pairs were significantly lower than those of outbreeding pairs. Estimates of reduction in the fertility of eggs (0.37) and in the number of hatchlings produced (0.56) suggested significant inbreeding depression in full-sib crosses. Inbred offspring reared in the garden had a higher mortality than outbred offspring reared in the same environment, with an inbreeding depression of 0.30 in the first year after hatching; but no significant difference was found when offspring from both groups were kept in the laboratory. The results support the hypothesis that cross-fertilization in simultaneous hermaphrodites is maintained by strong inbreeding depression.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Albuquerque De Matos, R M, and Serra, J A. 1984. Taxonomic polymorphism and intrinsic factors in Helix aspersa. Broteria-Genetica, Lisboa V (LXXX), 181–220.
Baur, B. 1989. Growth and reproduction of the minute land snail Punctumpygmaeum (Draparnaud). J Moll Stud, 55, 383–387.
Baur, B, and Baur, A. 1986. Proximate factors influencing egg cannibalism in the land snail Arianta arbustorum (Pulmonata, Helicidae). Oecologia (Berl.), 70, 283–287.
Bell, G. 1982. The Masterpiece of Nature: the Evolution and Genetics of Sexuality. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Cain, G L. 1956. Studies on cross-fertilization and self-fertilization in Lymnaea stagnalis appressa Say. Biol Bull, 111, 45–52.
Charlesworth, D, and Charlesworth, B. 1987. Inbreeding depression and its evolutionary consequences. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 18, 237–268.
Charlesworth, D, and Charlesworth, B. 1990. Inbreeding depression with heterozygote advantage and its effect on selection for modifiers changing the outcrossing rate. Evolution, 44, 870–888.
Charlesworth, D, Morgan, M T, and Charlesworth, B. 1990. Inbreeding depression, genetic load, and the evolution of outcrossing rate in a multilocus system with no linkage. Evolution, 44, 1468–1489.
Chen, X. 1993a. On Reproductive Strategies in Hermaphroditic Land Snails. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Chen, X. 1993b. Self-fertilization and cross-fertilization in the land snail Arianta arbustorum (Mollusca, Pulmonata: Helicidae). J Zool (London) (in press).
Crow, J F, and Kimura, M. 1970. An Introduction to Population Genetics Theory. Harper & Row, New York.
Duncan, C J. 1975. Reproduction. In: Fretter, V. and Peake, J. (eds), Pulmonales, vol. 1. pp. 309–365. Academic Press, New York.
Falconer, D S. 1981. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics, 2nd edn, Longman, London.
Frömming, E. 1954. Biologie der mitteleuropäischen Landgastropoden. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin.
Geraerts, W P M, and Joosse, J. 1984. Freshwater snails (Basommatophora). In: Tompa, A. S., Verdonk, N. H. & van den Biggelaar, J. A. M. (eds), The Mollusca vol 7: Reproduction. Academic Press, New York, pp. 141–207.
Ghiselin, M T. 1969. The evolution of hermaphroditism among animals. Q Rev Biol, 44, 189–208.
Ghiseun, M T. 1974. The Economy of Nature and the Evolution of Sex. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jarne, P, and Delay, B. 1990. Inbreeding depression and self-fertilization in Lymnaea peregra (Gastropoda: Pulmonata). Heredity, 64, 169–175.
Jarne, P, Finot, L, Delay, B, and Thaler, L. 1991. Self-fertilization versus cross-fertilization in the hermaphroditic freshwater snail Bulinus globosus. Evolution, 45, 1136–1146.
Kerney, M P, and Cameron, R A D. 1979. A Field Guide to the Land Snails in Britain and North-West Europe. Collins, London.
Lang, A. 1904. Ueber Vorversuche zu Untersuchungen über die Varietätenbildung von Helix hortensis Müller und Helix nemoralis L. Festschrift zum siebzigsten Geburtstage von Ernst Haeckel. Verlag von Gustav Fischer, Jena.
Lande, R, and Schemske, D W. 1985. The evolution of self-fertilization and inbreeding depression in plants. I. Genetic models. Evolution, 39, 24–40.
Lloyd, D G. 1979. Some reproductive factors affecting the selection of self-fertilization in plants. Am Nat, 113, 67–79.
McCracken, G F, and Brussard, P F. 1980. Self-fertilization in the white-lipped land snail Triodopsis albolabris. Biol J Linn Soc, 14, 429–434.
Maynard Smith, J. 1978. The Evolution of Sex. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Maynard Smith, J. 1989. Evolutionary Genetics. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
SAS Institute Inc. 1989. SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 6, 4th edn. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.
Schemske, D W, and Lande, R. 1985. The evolution of self-fertilization and inbreeding depression in plants. II. Empirical observations. Evolution, 39, 41–52.
Selander, R K, Kaufman, D W, and Ralin, R S. 1974. Self-ferti-lization in the terrestrial snail Rumina decollata. The Veliger, 16, 265–270.
Tompa, A S. 1984. Land snails (Stylommatophora). In: Tompa, A. S., Verdonk, N. H. and van den Biggelaar, J. A. M. (eds), The Mollusca, vol 7, Reproduction. Academic Press, New York, pp. 48–141.
Wells, H. 1979. Self-fertilization: advantageous or deleterious? Evolution, 33, 252–255.
Wright, S. 1977. Evolution and the Genetics of Populations, vol 3, Experimental Results and Evolutionary Deductions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, X. Comparison of inbreeding and outbreeding in hermaphroditic Arianta arbustorum (L.) (land snail). Heredity 71, 456–461 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1993.163
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1993.163
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Inbreeding risk, avoidance and costs in a group-living primate, Cebus capucinus
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2016)
-
Effects of inbreeding on life history and thermal performance in the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana
Population Ecology (2012)
-
Fitness costs associated with low genetic variation are reduced in a harsher environment in amphibian island populations
Conservation Genetics (2010)
-
Inbreeding depression in benign and stressful environments
Heredity (2005)
-
Inbreeding depression in the wild
Heredity (1999)