Most of my investigations into the mechanisms that initiate and control metamorphosis in Tritia obsoleta (was Ilyanassa obsoleta or Nassarius obsoletus) were conducted in collaboration with 12 graduate students who received Master of Science degrees, several faculty colleagues and many undergraduates. Tritia is an excellent model system for the study of molluscan metamorphosis as it is easily reared in the laboratory (Garbiah et al., 2008). Adults were obtained from mudflats at low tide (Below Left) and if fed a high protein diet, adult females will lay egg capsules in laboratory aquaria (Below Right) for at least 9 months after collection. In their natural environment, several species of diatoms could be involved in triggering larval metamorphosis (Leise et al., 2009).
Above Left: Aggregations of the mud snail Tritia obsoleta in their natural mudflat habitat at low tide. These snails are just north of the dock at the UNC Wilmington CREST Center for Marine Science, where we typically obtained adult animals.
Above Right: An adult female laying egg capsules in a laboratory aquarium. Egg capsules can contain 20-100 fertilized eggs that will rapidly become embryos at ambient temperatures. Several egg capsules are already attached to the aquarium and one is in her gonopore. Immediately to the left of this snail is an egg capsule in which the embryos have developed external ciliation and moved apart within the capsule.
