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Autori principali: Longman, Emily K, Sanford, Eric
Natura: Artículo científico
Lingua:en
Pubblicazione: Oecologia 2025
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Accesso online:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40629027/
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author Longman, Emily K
Sanford, Eric
author_facet Longman, Emily K
Sanford, Eric
Longman, Emily K
Sanford, Eric
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Biogeographic variation in mussel shell thickness and drilling predation on rocky shores. Longman, Emily K Sanford, Eric Animals Predatory Behavior Animal Shells Oregon Mytilus California Bivalvia Snails Food Chain Although predator and prey species often interact over broad geographic ranges, little consideration has been given to whether environmentally-driven variation in prey traits might create a landscape of selection that shapes the evolution of predator traits. Here, we investigate whether predatory intertidal snails (the dogwhelk Nucella canaliculata) vary in their drilling capacity in association with prey defenses (mussel shell thickness) over ~ 1000 km of coastline in the northeast Pacific. We analyzed mussels (Mytilus californianus) collected over two decades and found that shells from central Oregon were historically ~ 20% thicker than those from California. We tested the drilling capacity of dogwhelks raised under common-garden laboratory conditions and found that dogwhelks from California could drill mussels 3.4 times thicker than those from Oregon. Thus, dogwhelks with stronger drilling ability are associated with thinner mussel shells. Although these findings appear counterintuitive at first, they are consistent with strong prey-driven selection on the predator in California, and a region of weak selection in Oregon where mussels may be too thick to favor drilling. Our results also suggest that this selective landscape may be changing; consistent with recent studies of ocean acidification, mussels collected in 2019 were thinner than in prior decades, particularly in Oregon. Overall, our study highlights the importance of studying species interactions within an explicit geographic context of shifting selection pressures.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_40629027
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Oecologia
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Biogeographic variation in mussel shell thickness and drilling predation on rocky shores.
Longman, Emily K
Sanford, Eric
Animals
Predatory Behavior
Animal Shells
Oregon
Mytilus
California
Bivalvia
Snails
Food Chain
Biogeographic variation in mussel shell thickness and drilling predation on rocky shores. Longman, Emily K Sanford, Eric Animals Predatory Behavior Animal Shells Oregon Mytilus California Bivalvia Snails Food Chain Although predator and prey species often interact over broad geographic ranges, little consideration has been given to whether environmentally-driven variation in prey traits might create a landscape of selection that shapes the evolution of predator traits. Here, we investigate whether predatory intertidal snails (the dogwhelk Nucella canaliculata) vary in their drilling capacity in association with prey defenses (mussel shell thickness) over ~ 1000 km of coastline in the northeast Pacific. We analyzed mussels (Mytilus californianus) collected over two decades and found that shells from central Oregon were historically ~ 20% thicker than those from California. We tested the drilling capacity of dogwhelks raised under common-garden laboratory conditions and found that dogwhelks from California could drill mussels 3.4 times thicker than those from Oregon. Thus, dogwhelks with stronger drilling ability are associated with thinner mussel shells. Although these findings appear counterintuitive at first, they are consistent with strong prey-driven selection on the predator in California, and a region of weak selection in Oregon where mussels may be too thick to favor drilling. Our results also suggest that this selective landscape may be changing; consistent with recent studies of ocean acidification, mussels collected in 2019 were thinner than in prior decades, particularly in Oregon. Overall, our study highlights the importance of studying species interactions within an explicit geographic context of shifting selection pressures.
title Biogeographic variation in mussel shell thickness and drilling predation on rocky shores.
topic Animals
Predatory Behavior
Animal Shells
Oregon
Mytilus
California
Bivalvia
Snails
Food Chain
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40629027/