Physics
Scientific paper
Sep 1982
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1982natur.299..349v&link_type=abstract
Nature, Volume 299, Issue 5881, pp. 349-350 (1982).
Physics
1
Scientific paper
The phenotypic stability of many species in the face of changing conditions suggests that adaptive evolution can occur only under limited circumstances. One of the necessary conditions may be the lack of genetic mixing between dispersed populations inhabiting different environments. Intertidal molluscs on the east coast of North America between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia were exposed to an increase in the abundance of shell breaking predators when the green crab Carcinus maenas spread gradually northward from Cape Cod in the first half of the twentieth century1. The periwinkle Littorina littorea, which produces larvae that become widely dispersed, did not show an increase in shell thickness as an adaptation to shell-breaking predation1. However, I show here that the dog whelk Nucella lapillus, which is poorly dispersed in the bottom-dwelling juvenile phase, did adapt phenotypically after establishment of the green crab. This suggests that phenotypic stasis and gradual change are alternative responses depending on the degree of genetic mixing between populations.
No associations
LandOfFree
Phenotypic evolution in a poorly dispersing snail after arrival of a predator does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Phenotypic evolution in a poorly dispersing snail after arrival of a predator, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Phenotypic evolution in a poorly dispersing snail after arrival of a predator will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1262316