Effect of courtship and repeated copulation on egg production in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snailArianta arbustorum

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to examine whether extended courtship display (a major component of mating behaviour) or repeated copulation in the course of a reproductive season stimulates egg production in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Arianta arbustorum. Repeated copulation was found to increase the number of eggs produced while courtship display did not appear to affect egg production. However, repeated copulation neither accelerated the onset of egg laying nor increased the hatching success of eggs. These results suggest that reciprocal intromission and/or receipt of a spermato-phore, but not the long-lasting courtship behaviour, stimulates egg production in A. arbustorum.