ABSTRACT
304Gastropods have colonized marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, and the extraordinary diversification of their habitats makes them a group of high ecological importance. They may be exposed to various environmental stressors of natural or human origin, and thereby forced to acclimate or adapt to a highly changing and often stressful, if not toxic, environment. Using examples chosen from the most recent literature, this chapter reviews the various aspects of gastropod ecophysiological response to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Biological responses are presented in their diversity, from stress signaling to successive steps and components of the stress response including oxidative stress, detoxification systems, macromolecules alterations, and apoptosis. A specific section is devoted to the response of the immune system to stressors, including parasites. The chapter ends with some evolutionary perspectives associated with stress responses.
