Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2021
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V37
Höfundar / Authors: Hildur Magnúsdóttir (1,2,3), Snæbjörn Pálsson (2), Kristen Marie Westfall (4,5), Zophonías O. Jónsson (2), Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir (3)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Institute for Experimental Pathology at Keldur, University of Iceland, 2. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 3. Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, 4. Vör - Marine Research Centre in Breiðafjörður, Ólafsvík, 5. DFO, Nanaimo, Canada
Kynnir / Presenter: Hildur Magnúsdóttir
The subtidal North Atlantic gastropod, the common whelk Buccinum undatum, exhibits considerable phenotypic variation in shell morphology, both with regard to shape and color, across its distribution. Variation in the species’ shell morphology has been hypothesized to reflect environmental variation, e.g., variation in hydrological conditions, predation pressure, depth or sea floor temperature. Recent studies on the species have focused on quantifying and analysing these trends at multiple spatial scales, as well as comparing phenotypic and genotypic variation in whelk populations across the species’ distribution. Considering the partial discordance of genetic and morphological patterns observed for the species it is clear that further study is needed to determine the reliability of assumptions on divergence of populations based on morphological characteristics, and to what extent this truly reflects environmental variation. In the current study we study the development of morphological traits of the common whelk under controlled conditions. Using whelk egg-masses from two genetically diverged populations, Iceland and Canada, allowing for relatively independent replicates, juveniles were reared and monitored with regard to color and shape in controlled laboratory conditions from hatching to 19 months of age. Egg-masses were sampled at the exact same sites where adults were sampled in 2014 and juvenile phenotypic traits were compared to the phenotype of the parental population.