Journal ArticleDOI
Crab predation, waterborne cues, and inducible defenses in the blue mussel, mytilus edulis
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TLDR
The presence of previously undescribed inducible defenses in marine mussels, a dominant member of temperate rocky intertidal communities, is reported and contributes to growing evidence that in Ducible defenses are a pervasive feature of interTidal assemblages.Abstract:
Inducible defenses are found in both terrestrial and aquatic organisms and appear to be a common defensive strategy of both sessile and mobile species. Here we report the presence of previously undescribed inducible defenses in marine mussels, a dominant member of temperate rocky intertidal communities. In the Gulf of Maine, estuarine shorelines with low water flow are characterized by high crab predation on the common blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, compared to nearby shore- lines with high water flow. Mussels at these high predation sites had thicker shells, relatively more shell mass, and were more tightly attached to the substrate than mussels at low predation sites. Field and laboratory experiments were used to test whether the between- site differences in these traits were the result of phenotypic plasticity. Mussels outplanted to high predation sites produced more byssal threads and attached more firmly to the substrate than did mussels outplanted to low predation sites. In the laboratory, thicker shells were induced by waterborne cues from both the common predator, Carcinus maenus, and damaged conspecifics, and these thicker shells were mechanically stronger than thinner, noninduced ones. Our results contribute to growing evidence that inducible defenses are a pervasive feature of intertidal assemblages. In addition to the bivalve example presented here, gastropods, barnacles, bryozoans, and seaweeds are also known to have inducible defenses. Phenotypic plasticity for defensive traits has likely evolved repeatedly in intertidal organisms and appears to play a major role in the dynamics of rocky intertidal communities.read more
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References
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Experiments in Ecology: Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis of Variance
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how to design ecological experiments from a statistical basis using analysis of variance, so that we can draw reliable conclusions, and explain the logical procedures that lead to a need for experiments.
Book ChapterDOI
Evolutionary Significance of Phenotypic Plasticity in Plants
TL;DR: This chapter focuses on evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity in plants, indicating that adaptation by plasticity is a widespread and important phenomenon in plants and has evolved differently in different species.
BookDOI
Principal components analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of principal components is introduced and a number of techniques related to principal component analysis are presented, such as using principal components to select a subset of variables for regression analysis, detecting outliers, and detecting influential observations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Genotype-environment interaction and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity.
Sara Via,Russell Lande +1 more
TL;DR: These models utilize the statistical relationship which exists between genotype‐environment interaction and genetic correlation to describe evolution of the mean phenotype under soft and hard selection in coarse‐grained environments.
Journal ArticleDOI
The ecology and evolution of inducible defenses
TL;DR: Inducible defenses are responses activated through a previous encounter with a consumer or competitor that confer some degree of resistance to subsequent attacks as discussed by the authors, which can affect the probability of individual survival and growth.
Related Papers (5)
Water-borne stimuli released by predatory crabs and damaged prey induce more predator-resistant shells in a marine gastropod.
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