**Author details**

**3.4. Aquaculture**

134 Biological Resources of Water

**4. Discussion**

**Acknowledgements**

English.

*3.4.1. Current status*

commercial and repopulation purposes [60].

The reproductive cycle of the snail *Hexaplex (Muricanthus) nigritus*, was studied in 2011, under lab conditions. A total of three females and two males were collected in Macapule lagoon, Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. After being held at water exchange regimes a total of 24 eggs masses were collected. The average number of capsules found within an eggs mass was of 150.75 ± 37.23. The estimated height and width for the capsules averaged 15.05 ± 1.21 and 4.93 ± 0.58 cm, respectively; the average number of embryos found per capsule was of 1583 ± 149, obtaining a total of 238,626 ± 3457 embryos in the egg mass. The obtained results were considered as useful tools to estimate the reproductive potential of *H. M. nigritus* for

A difference was found among the ecological indexes (H′, J′, Dmg) from the intertidal Mollusks community between the present study from the Ohuira lagoon, Ahome, Sinaloa (2016–2017 period) and previous studies undertaken at the Guasave municipality in Sinaloa (Navachiste lagoon) [15] and in the Topolobampo and Ohuira lagoons (mangrove zone) [16]. The abundance distribution of organisms and species on the collecting sites was heterogeneous. In the gastropod mollusk community in Ohuira lagoon, Ahome, there was a certain type of association with the type of substrate, which is composed of rocky and sandy zones (beach), zones with small rocks and in less proportion mangroves. The sampling methods showed that the gastropod *Littorina modesta* associates with the mangrove. In a previous study about epibenthic invertebrate communities associated with hard substrates in the intertidal zone in the Ohuira and Topolobampo lagoons, Sinaloa, the authors mentioned that the rocky intertidal zone and its organisms represent a very important trophic phase, and they recognize the importance of getting to know more about the biodiversity and distribution of the epibenthic invertebrate community of that study area. In their study, they performed 4 samplings with 50 × 50 cm quadrants at 5 stations from August 2011 to February 2012. The results showed that the community presented a specific richness (S) of 168 species, where 74 of them corresponded to Mollusks. The gastropod *Cerithium stercusmuscarum* was found within the dominant species, which matches with the results reported in the present study on the Ohuira islands [52]. The species *Cerithium stercusmuscarum, Neritina* sp.*, Nerita funiculata, Nerita scabricosta, Crucibulum spinosum, Nassarius luteostoma* and *Crepidula onix* could be considered as representatives of the

The authors thank Dra. Mercedes Eugenia Guerrero Ruiz for translating the manuscript into

malacological fauna of the Ohuira lagoon, Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Ruth Escamilla-Montes<sup>1</sup> , Salvador Granados-Alcantar<sup>2</sup> , Genaro Diarte-Plata<sup>1</sup> \*, Paúl de J. Pacheco-Heredia<sup>3</sup> , Juan A. Gill-León<sup>4</sup> , Antonio Luna-González<sup>1</sup> , Jesús A. Fierro-Coronado<sup>1</sup> , Píndaro Álvarez-Ruíz<sup>1</sup> , Héctor M. Esparza-Leal<sup>1</sup> and Wenceslao Valenzuela-Quiñonez<sup>1</sup>

\*Address all correspondence to: gdiarte@ipn.mx

1 Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Sinaloa, Guasave, Sinaloa, México

2 Universidad de occidente, Unidad Los Mochis, Departamento de Biología, Los Mochis, Ahome, Sinaloa, México

3 Universidad Autónoma Intercultural de Sinaloa, Programa de Maestría en Ciencias en Desarrollo Sustentable de Recursos Naturales, Unidad Los Mochis, Ahome, Sinaloa, México

4 Instituto Nacional de México, Unidad Los Mochis. Departamento de Biología, Los Mochis, Ahome, Sinaloa, México

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**Chapter 7**

**Provisional chapter**

**Marine Snails of the Genus** *Phorcus***: Biology and**

**Marine Snails of the Genus** *Phorcus***: Biology and** 

Ricardo Sousa, João Delgado, José A. González,

Ricardo Sousa, João Delgado, José A. González,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Mafalda Freitas and Paulo Henriques

Mafalda Freitas and Paulo Henriques

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71614

**Rocky Shores**

**Abstract**

**Rocky Shores**

**Ecology of Sentinel Species for Human Impacts on the**

In this review article, the authors explore a broad spectrum of subjects associated to marine snails of the genus *Phorcus* Risso, 1826, namely, distribution, habitat, behaviour and life history traits, and the consequences of anthropological impacts, such as fisheries, pollution, and climate changes, on these species. This work focuses on discussing the ecological importance of these sentinel species and their interactions in the rocky shores as well as the anthropogenic impacts to which they are subjected. One of the main anthropogenic stresses that affect *Phorcus* species is fisheries. Topshell harvesting is recognized as occurring since prehistoric times and has evolved through time from a subsistence to commercial exploitation level. However, there is a gap of information concerning these species that hinders stock assessment and management required for sustainable exploitation. Additionally, these keystone species are useful tools in assessing coastal habitat quality, due to their eco-biological features. Contamination of these species with heavy metals carries serious risk for animal and human health due to their potential of biomagnification in the food chain. Thus, the use of these species as bioindicators is warranted to the establishment of conservation measures targeting marine coastal environments. Climate change increases the level of environmental stress to which intertidal organisms are subjected to, affecting the functioning of biological systems at different levels of organization. *Phorcus* species have been widely used as indicators of the effect of climate change on local disturbances of intertidal ecosystems and geographic distribution shifts of these organisms. Further studies concerning biological parameters of *Phorcus* species and how they react to exploitation, pollution, and climate change will consolidate these species as indicators of large-scale ecological impacts of anthropogenic activities. **Keywords:** *Phorcus*, topshells, life history traits, fisheries, pollution, climate change

**Ecology of Sentinel Species for Human Impacts on the** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.71614

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Provisional chapter**

### **Marine Snails of the Genus** *Phorcus***: Biology and Ecology of Sentinel Species for Human Impacts on the Rocky Shores Ecology of Sentinel Species for Human Impacts on the Rocky Shores**

**Marine Snails of the Genus** *Phorcus***: Biology and** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.71614

Ricardo Sousa, João Delgado, José A. González, Mafalda Freitas and Paulo Henriques Mafalda Freitas and Paulo Henriques Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Ricardo Sousa, João Delgado, José A. González,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71614

#### **Abstract**

In this review article, the authors explore a broad spectrum of subjects associated to marine snails of the genus *Phorcus* Risso, 1826, namely, distribution, habitat, behaviour and life history traits, and the consequences of anthropological impacts, such as fisheries, pollution, and climate changes, on these species. This work focuses on discussing the ecological importance of these sentinel species and their interactions in the rocky shores as well as the anthropogenic impacts to which they are subjected. One of the main anthropogenic stresses that affect *Phorcus* species is fisheries. Topshell harvesting is recognized as occurring since prehistoric times and has evolved through time from a subsistence to commercial exploitation level. However, there is a gap of information concerning these species that hinders stock assessment and management required for sustainable exploitation. Additionally, these keystone species are useful tools in assessing coastal habitat quality, due to their eco-biological features. Contamination of these species with heavy metals carries serious risk for animal and human health due to their potential of biomagnification in the food chain. Thus, the use of these species as bioindicators is warranted to the establishment of conservation measures targeting marine coastal environments. Climate change increases the level of environmental stress to which intertidal organisms are subjected to, affecting the functioning of biological systems at different levels of organization. *Phorcus* species have been widely used as indicators of the effect of climate change on local disturbances of intertidal ecosystems and geographic distribution shifts of these organisms. Further studies concerning biological parameters of *Phorcus* species and how they react to exploitation, pollution, and climate change will consolidate these species as indicators of large-scale ecological impacts of anthropogenic activities.

**Keywords:** *Phorcus*, topshells, life history traits, fisheries, pollution, climate change

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
