Flávia Oliveira Junqueira

Seasonal changes of energy reserves in Bulimulus tenuissimus (d'Orbigny, 1835) (Mollusca, Bulimulidae)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation of energy substrates in different seasons in Bulimulus tenuissimus. For this evaluation, substrates were collected from the digestive and albumen glands and foot tissues, which were processed to obtain the concentrations of glucose and galactose. There was seasonal variation in energy reserves in both the digestive gland and the foot of Bulimulus tenuissimus, with a tendency to accumulation from spring to winter. There was greater use of energetic reserves in the spring and summer, being the glycogen stored in the digestive gland the first source consumed. In addition, mobilization of reserves of glycogen in the muscle in summer was observed. The reduction of glycogen coincides with the reproductive cycle of the species, and the expenses generated for the processes of mating and gametogenesis was the cause of this reduction. The concentration of galactogen also varied according to the reproductive period. It was suggested that variations in temperature and photoperiod that occur during the year would act as regulatory mechanisms of energy metabolism of B. tenuissimus.