This snail creates and uses
love darts as part of its
courtship behaviour, prior to mating. The shell of the snail plays an important role on its quality of life. This is because the calcium in the snails shell allows for shell regeneration to take place, if the shell was ever to be broken.
O. lactea has developed the evolutionary adaptation of
estivation to help it deal with harsh conditions such as drought or famine. During this time,
O. lactea suppresses its metabolism. This affects many of the body functions. On a cellular level, this conversion from normal to estivation is seen impacting the Na+/K+-ATPase function. The Na+/K+-ATPase activity has been shown to be significantly reduced during estivation. As the Na+/K+-ATPase pump uses quite a lot of ATP, the suppression of this pump plays a key role in the conversion to estivation in the
O. lactea. ==References ==