Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Refuge function of marine algae complicates selection in an intertidal snail.

Petri Kemppainen1, Solveig van Nes, Christofer Ceder

  • 1Department of Marine Ecology, Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, Göteborg University, 452 96, Sweden.

Oecologia
|February 16, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The Southern Ocean as an evolutionary arena for structural genomic variation.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

A career in pursuit of the origin of species: celebrating Roger Butlin's contributions to the advancement of knowledge and growth of our scientific community.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2026
Same author

Genomic insights into the origin of ecotypes.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Variation in Eusperm Length May Reflect Reproductive Barriers and Differences in Sperm Competition Intensity Among <i>Littorina</i> Snails.

Ecology and evolution·2025
Same author

Phenotypic Divergence and Genomic Architecture Between Parallel Ecotypes at Two Different Points on the Speciation Continuum in a Marine Snail.

Molecular ecology·2025
Same author

Putting Structural Variants Into Practice: The Role of Chromosomal Inversions in the Management of Marine Environments.

Molecular ecology·2025
Same journal

Unveiling the microhabitat puzzle: how spatial heterogeneity shapes cave invertebrate biodiversity across scales.

Oecologia·2026
Same journal

Soil microbial drought history affects physiological response of select tree species to drought stress.

Oecologia·2026
Same journal

Unveiling the effects of interspecific competition: ecological consequences of competitive release after damming on Salvelinus curilus populations in a three-salmonid species coexistence system.

Oecologia·2026
Same journal

Orchid bee diversity responds positively to forest cover and landscape heterogeneity in the Brazilian Savanna.

Oecologia·2026
Same journal

The impact of native vertebrates on enemy release and plant functional traits during community assembly.

Oecologia·2026
Same journal

Nutrient fluctuations alter effects of litter diversity of invasive species on native communities.

Oecologia·2026
See all related articles

Marine gastropod Littorina fabalis size varies with habitat. Larger sizes in wave-exposed areas may be an adaptation to crab predation, while smaller sizes are favored in sheltered areas, demonstrating complex trait selection.

Area of Science:

  • Marine ecology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology

Background:

  • Marine gastropods with restricted gene flow often exhibit habitat-specific trait shifts.
  • Typically, gastropod size decreases in wave-exposed areas to prevent dislodgement and increases in sheltered areas to deter crab predation.
  • Littorina fabalis presents an atypical pattern, with larger snails in moderately exposed shores and smaller snails in sheltered shores.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the factors influencing the contrasting shell sizes of Littorina fabalis in different habitats.
  • To test the hypothesis that increased size in moderately exposed habitats is a response to crab predation.
  • To understand the interplay of predation, dislodgement, and habitat structure in shaping snail morphology.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparative observations of snail size in different habitats across varying wave exposure and crab presence.
  • Experimental tethering of snails to assess survival rates and predator avoidance in relation to substrate and wave action.
  • Analysis of snail mortality factors, including crab predation and dislodgement, in both sheltered and exposed environments.

Main Results:

  • In the absence of crabs, Littorina fabalis remains small in both sheltered and exposed habitats, suggesting an optimal size below 8 mm.
  • Crab predation significantly impacts snail survival in both sheltered and moderately exposed habitats in crab-rich areas.
  • Algal cover acts as a crucial refuge against crab predation in sheltered habitats, favoring smaller snail sizes potentially due to life-history benefits.
  • In moderately exposed habitats, larger snail size is favored, likely as a strategy to withstand dislodgement while still benefiting from algal refuges.

Conclusions:

  • Littorina fabalis exhibits complex adaptive trait selection driven by a combination of factors: life-history optimization, crab predation, wave-induced dislodgement, and the protective role of algal refuges.
  • The study highlights how different ecological pressures interact to determine optimal phenotypes in marine gastropods.
  • This research provides a nuanced example of trait evolution in response to multiple, interacting environmental variables.