Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic
Here we investigate if predation by the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) differs between two congeneric snails in the northwest Atlantic (Littorina littorea and L. obtusata), and ask if differential predation can help explain the geography of claw and shell forms among geographically separated...
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The Society for the Study of Evolution
2008
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x |
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ftbioone:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x 2024-06-02T08:12:15+00:00 Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette world 2008-05-01 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x en eng The Society for the Study of Evolution doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x Text 2008 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x 2024-05-07T00:59:41Z Here we investigate if predation by the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) differs between two congeneric snails in the northwest Atlantic (Littorina littorea and L. obtusata), and ask if differential predation can help explain the geography of claw and shell forms among geographically separated populations. First, correlations between crusher-claw size and shell mass—tested across a wide size range of animals—were highly significant among populations of C. maenas and L. obtusata, whereas only a small number of significant correlations were found between C. maenas and L. littorea, and these were limited to the smaller size classes of snails and crabs. Moreover, among populations, L. obtusata shells were more frequently scarred than those of L. littorea, and L. obtusata were attacked and killed more frequently than L. littorea during field- and laboratory-predation experiments. Combined, results suggest L. obtusata is currently under greater selection by C. maenas than L. littorea for more crab-resistant shell forms. One possible explanation for these patterns is that L. littorea may have interacted with green crabs for centuries (in Europe) prior to their reintroduction to green crabs in America, thus predator-resistance may had already evolved. Text Northwest Atlantic BioOne Online Journals Evolution 62 5 1216 1228 |
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English |
description |
Here we investigate if predation by the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) differs between two congeneric snails in the northwest Atlantic (Littorina littorea and L. obtusata), and ask if differential predation can help explain the geography of claw and shell forms among geographically separated populations. First, correlations between crusher-claw size and shell mass—tested across a wide size range of animals—were highly significant among populations of C. maenas and L. obtusata, whereas only a small number of significant correlations were found between C. maenas and L. littorea, and these were limited to the smaller size classes of snails and crabs. Moreover, among populations, L. obtusata shells were more frequently scarred than those of L. littorea, and L. obtusata were attacked and killed more frequently than L. littorea during field- and laboratory-predation experiments. Combined, results suggest L. obtusata is currently under greater selection by C. maenas than L. littorea for more crab-resistant shell forms. One possible explanation for these patterns is that L. littorea may have interacted with green crabs for centuries (in Europe) prior to their reintroduction to green crabs in America, thus predator-resistance may had already evolved. |
author2 |
Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette |
format |
Text |
author |
Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette |
spellingShingle |
Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
author_facet |
Timothy C. Edgell Rémy Rochette |
author_sort |
Timothy C. Edgell |
title |
Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
title_short |
Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
title_full |
Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Differential Snail Predation by an Exotic Crab and the Geography of Shell-Claw Covariance in the Northwest Atlantic |
title_sort |
differential snail predation by an exotic crab and the geography of shell-claw covariance in the northwest atlantic |
publisher |
The Society for the Study of Evolution |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x |
op_coverage |
world |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x |
op_relation |
doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00350.x |
container_title |
Evolution |
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62 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1216 |
op_container_end_page |
1228 |
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1800758633616637952 |