Structural subniche of Parachondria neglectus (Littorinimorpha: Annulariidae) in Manzanillo, Cuba

Abstract

Parachondria neglectus is a terrestrial mollusk endemic of Cuba. This species constitutes the only report of the Annulariidae family in the municipality of Manzanillo, Granma province. In the present study, the temporal dynamics of the structural subniche of a population of P. neglectus was characterized. Thirty expeditions were carried out between December 2013 and February 2015. 83.9 % of the mollusks were found on the ground (around the base of trees and shrubs) and 16.1 % used the trunk of eight plant species as diurnal resting substrate. The test of independence performed using a 2×2 contingency table with Yates correction showed that in the population the frequency of using one substrate or another depends on the occurrence or not of rainfall (χ2 = 214.88; P = 0.0001). This species was found at an average trunk distance of 13 ± 6.42 cm. The C-index values indicated marked preference of this mollusk for Swietenia mahagoni during all climatic periods sampled. During the rainy season this species also showed statistically significant preferences for Cordia gerascanthus, Ehretia tinifolia and Bursera simaruba. For the population, the height above the ground presented a mean value of 153.5 ± 71.3 cm. The heights above the ground reached by this species on rainy and non-rainy days showed statistically significant differences (U = 21519.5; P < 0.001).