Changes in selection on gastropod shell size and thickness with wave-exposure on northeastern pacific shores.

Boulding, Elizabeth G.; Holst, Meike; Pilon, Vicki

doi:10.1016/s0022-0981(98)00117-8

Cited by 83 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The thin-shelled littorinid species, Littorina subrotundata, suffered significantly higher rates of predation than two thicker-shelled species, L. sitkana and L. scutulata s.l., at three of our four sites. Boulding et al (1999) conclude that the higher rates of shell-breaking predation on wave-sheltered shores of the Northeastern Pacific selects for L. sitkana with thicker but not necessarily larger shells than those on wave-exposed shores.…”

Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The possible impact of predators was assessed by comparing the type of shells collected damage with published information from the literature with respect to R. venosa (Harding, 2003), some closely related species (Hughes and Elner, 1979;Donovan et al, 1999), and some other gastropods (Boulding et al, 1999;Palmer, 1979Palmer, , 1985Trussell, 1996).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These trends suggest that phenotypic plasticity in shell thickness may have evolved as a general strategy to the threat of crab predation (Trussell, 2011) Meantime, wave-exposed snails raised without crabs also produced shells thicker (Trussell, 2011) As a result, caution must be used when interpreting morphological variation among populations and morphological change through time as evidence of microevolutionary change (Palmer, 1985b;Palmer, 1990;Trussell, 2011) The large size and thick shell with its small aperture of sheltered shore gastropods are thought to be adaptations to the high abundance of highly motile predators, to crushing by stones, and to desiccation and heat stress (Kitching et al, 1966;Heller, 1976;Atkinson and Newbury, 1984;Johannesson, 1986-all by Boulding et al, 1999. Unfortunately most of the evidence for the adaptive nature of these shell features is circumstantial and few field studies have investigated the mechanisms responsible for the differential survival of gastropods with different shell morphologies on wave-exposed and wave-sheltered shores (Boulding et al, 1999).…”

Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However such a small difference in shell thickness may be difficult to detect statistically in field-collected specimens. Raffaelli (1978) expected to see differences in shell thickness of Littorina saxatilis between habitats varying in wave-exposure and crab predation intensities but found no correlation (Boulding et al, 1999). …”

Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecomorphological Analyses of Marine Mollusks' Shell Thickness of <i>Rapana venosa</i> (VALENCIENNES, 1846) (Gastropoda: Muricidae)

Bondarev¹

2013

ijms

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Shell thickness of Rapana venosa was investigated from ecologically different places of the Azov -Black Sea basin. In the formation of the shell thickness there are two major trends: thickening with age, and inversely proportional to the size of the thickening of even-aged individuals of the same population. Shell thickness formation was analyzed in connection with biotic and abiotic environmental factors of influence. R. venosa ontogeny is not conducive to the rapid succession newly acquired characters in local populations. The formation of a thick shell is mainly the individual response of bions to the environment. Individuals' of the same type reaction is the cause of formation of specific conchological characters of separate populations or parts thereof. Mechanical impacts (e.g. damage by breaking predators and storm waves hitting on rocks) have no significant effect on the increasing of thickness of shells. Comparative analysis of the thickness of the shell of R. venosa from areas with different salinity shows that the direct relationship between these parameters is absent. R. venosa is capable of forming its own salinity medium in the mantle cavity, which is different from the external environment. The main factor influencing the formation of a thick-walled shell is the amplitude of the temperature fluctuations in the locality.Shell thickness of R. venosa was considered as ecomorphological character in comparison with the same feature of shell-bearing mollusks from the World Ocean at different latitude zones. It is shown that high temperature gradient is one of the most important factors of forming a thick shell. The greatest show this intertidal species and ecomorphs of temperate and high latitudes, where the temperature gradients are most expressed.

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Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Impact Of Predators and Parasitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ecomorphological Analyses of Marine Mollusks' Shell Thickness of <i>Rapana venosa</i> (VALENCIENNES, 1846) (Gastropoda: Muricidae)

Bondarev¹

2013

ijms

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“…These gradients also determine the duration and suitability of various foraging windows (high and low tide, day and night) for predation (e.g. Boulding et al 1999, Faria & Almada 2006, Hollingsworth & Connolly 2006, and can also affect predator behaviour (e.g. Menge 1978b, Menge & Sutherland 1987, both directly by impeding prey handling, or indirectly by influencing prey abundance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of the intertidal zone by mobile predators: influence of wave exposure, tidal phase and elevation on abundance and diet

Silva¹,

Hawkins²,

Boaventura³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Linkages between predators and their prey across the subtidal-intertidal boundary remain relatively unexplored. The influence of tidal phase, tidal height and wave exposure on the abundance, population structure and stomach contents of mobile predatory crabs was examined on rocky shores in southwest Britain. Crabs were sampled both during the day and at night using traps deployed at high tide and by direct observation during low tide. Carcinus maenas (L.), Necora puber (L.) and Cancer pagurus (L.) were the most abundant species, being mainly active during nocturnal high tides. C. maenas was the only species that was active during nocturnal low tides, when it was observed mainly on the lower shore feeding on limpets. Individuals of all 3 species sampled during high tide were considerably larger than those sampled during low tide. Thus, sampling crab populations at low tide is likely to underestimate abundance and the extent of predation by crabs on rockyshore assemblages. During immersion, the relative abundance of each species was influenced by exposure to wave action and tidal elevation. All species were more abundant on the lower shore; C. maenas and N. puber were more abundant in sheltered locations, while C. pagurus was more abundant in exposed locations. Analyses of stomach contents from individuals captured at high tide revealed that chitons and limpets were the most common hard-shell prey taxa in the diet of these predators. The relative abundance of prey in gut contents was, however, not correlated with patterns of prey abundance. Our study indicates the importance of crabs as key intertidal predators and illustrates the strong trophic linkages between the subtidal and intertidal zones, which is likely to be a key factor influencing community structure on European shores.

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Size selection by a gape‐limited predator of a marine snail: Insights into magic traits for speciation

Boulding

Rivas

González‐Lavín

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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The intertidal snail Littorina saxatilis has repeatedly evolved two parallel ecotypes assumed to be wave adapted and predatory shore crab adapted, but the magnitude and targets of predator‐driven selection are unknown. In Spain, a small, wave ecotype with a large aperture from the lower shore and a large, thick‐shelled crab ecotype from the upper shore meet in the mid‐shore and show partial size‐assortative mating. We performed complementary field tethering and laboratory predation experiments; the first set compared the survival of two different size‐classes of the crab ecotype while the second compared the same size‐class of the two ecotypes. In the first set, the large size‐class of the crab ecotype survived significantly better than the small size‐class both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. In the second set, the small size‐class of the crab ecotype survived substantially better than that of the wave ecotype both on the upper shore and in the laboratory. Shell‐breaking predation on tethered snails was almost absent within the lower shore. In the laboratory shore crabs (Pachygrapsus marmoratus) with larger claw heights selected most strongly against the small size‐class of the crab ecotype, whereas those with medium claw heights selected most strongly against the thin‐shelled wave ecotype. Sexual maturity occurred at a much larger size in the crab ecotype than in the wave ecotype. Our results showed that selection on the upper shore for rapid attainment of a size refuge from this gape‐limited predator favors large size, thick shells, and late maturity. Model parameterization showed that size‐selective predation restricted to the upper shore resulted in the evolution of the crab ecotype despite gene flow from the wave ecotype snails living on the lower shore. These results on gape‐limited predation and previous ones showing size‐assortative mating between ecotypes suggest that size may represent a magic trait for the thick‐shelled ecotype.

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Changes in selection on gastropod shell size and thickness with wave-exposure on northeastern pacific shores.

Cited by 83 publications

References 43 publications

Ecomorphological Analyses of Marine Mollusks' Shell Thickness of <i>Rapana venosa</i> (VALENCIENNES, 1846) (Gastropoda: Muricidae)

Ecomorphological Analyses of Marine Mollusks' Shell Thickness of <i>Rapana venosa</i> (VALENCIENNES, 1846) (Gastropoda: Muricidae)

Use of the intertidal zone by mobile predators: influence of wave exposure, tidal phase and elevation on abundance and diet

Size selection by a gape‐limited predator of a marine snail: Insights into magic traits for speciation

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