Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2017

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E68

Shell morphology and colour of the subtidal whelk Buccinum undatum exhibit fine-scaled spatial patterns

Höfundar / Authors: Hildur Magnúsdóttir (1,2), Snæbjörn Pálsson (1), Kristen Marie Westfall (1,3,4), Zophonías O. Jónsson (1), Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir (2)

Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Líf- og umhverfisvísindadeild, Háskóla Íslands, 2. Fiskeldis - og fiskalíffræðideild, Háskólanum á Hólum, 3. Vör - Rannsóknarsetur við Breiðafjörð, 4. Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Kynnir / Presenter: Hildur Magnúsdóttir

Geographical patterns in body form, behaviour and life history can arise from direct environmental control of physiological processes and body shape, differential adaptation to changing biological surroundings or random changes in distinct populations. Spatial patterns and connectivity within subtidal gastropod species was studied using the ubiquitous common whelk (Buccinum undatum), which exhibits remarkable spatial variation in life-history traits and morphology throughout its bicontinental N-Atlantic distribution. Phenotypic variation in shell morphology and colour was assessed quantitatively in whelk from Breiðafjörður.
Whelk in Breiðafjörður displayed a fine-scaled pattern of spatial variation in shape, thickness, lightness of shell colour and colour diversity. Increased differentiation with increased distance between populations indicates that population connectivity of the common whelk is limited. Both shape and colour varied from the inner part of Breiðafjörður in the east to the outer part in the west. In the inner part of the bay whelk shells were thick with a round body whorl and less diverse in colour while outwards in the bay the shells gradually became thinner with a more elongate body whorl and more colour diversity.
The high site specific differences in shell traits of the common whelk and inshore-offshore pattern in correlation with environmental variables indicate local ecological segregation and limited demographic connectivity.