Growth rates and longevity of some gastropod mollusks on the coral reef at Heron Island

Abstract

Information on growth, gained from individually marked animals, is provided for at least one species of each of the families Trochidae, Neritidae, Strombidae, Cypraeidae, Thaisidae, Fasciolariidae, Vasidae and Conidae. Except in the cowries and strombs, which have determinate growth, shell growth is adequately described by a von Bertalanffy curve only to a certain point. Beyond this, growth continues slowly and at a rate that is independent of size. Size frequency distributions are characteristically negatively skew, mainly because early growth is fast relative to the total life span. Longevities seem to indicate that turnover rates are comparable to those of Prosobranch mollusks from colder seas.