Temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of a marine snail from NW Spain
(2024) In Current Zoology 70(2). p.163-173- Abstract
The evolution and maintenance of color clines is a classic topic of research in evolutionary ecology. However, studies analyzing the temporal dynamics of such clines are much less frequent, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable data about past color distributions along environmental gradients. In this article, we describe a case of decades-long temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis along the coastal inlet of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). L. saxatilis from this area shows a clear color cline with 3 distinct areas from the innermost to the more wave-exposed localities of the Ría: the inner, protected localities show an abundance of fawn-like individuals; the intermediate... (More)
The evolution and maintenance of color clines is a classic topic of research in evolutionary ecology. However, studies analyzing the temporal dynamics of such clines are much less frequent, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable data about past color distributions along environmental gradients. In this article, we describe a case of decades-long temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis along the coastal inlet of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). L. saxatilis from this area shows a clear color cline with 3 distinct areas from the innermost to the more wave-exposed localities of the Ría: the inner, protected localities show an abundance of fawn-like individuals; the intermediate localities show a high diversity of colors; and the outer, wave-exposed localities show populations with a high frequency of a black and lineated morph. We compare data from the 1970s and 2022 in the same localities, showing that the cline has kept relatively stable for at least over half a century, except for some directional change and local variability in the frequency of certain morphs. Multiple regression analyses and biodiversity measures are presented to provide clues into the selective pressures that might be involved in the maintenance of this color cline. Future research avenues to properly test the explanatory power of these selective agents as well as the possible origins of the cline are discussed.
(Less)
- author
- Gefaell, Juan LU ; Vigo, Ramón ; González-Vázquez, A. Honorato ; Galindo, Juan and Rolán-Alvarez, Emilio
- publishing date
- 2024-04-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- clinal variation, color polymorphism, ecological gradient, Littorina saxatilis, natural selection, wave exposure
- in
- Current Zoology
- volume
- 70
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85193228992
- pmid:38726245
- ISSN
- 1674-5507
- DOI
- 10.1093/cz/zoad009
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology.
- id
- 22b0f063-12a8-43ca-9b0e-3859459af0b0
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-27 13:59:18
- date last changed
- 2025-07-15 03:07:58
@article{22b0f063-12a8-43ca-9b0e-3859459af0b0,
abstract = {{<p>The evolution and maintenance of color clines is a classic topic of research in evolutionary ecology. However, studies analyzing the temporal dynamics of such clines are much less frequent, due to the difficulty of obtaining reliable data about past color distributions along environmental gradients. In this article, we describe a case of decades-long temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis along the coastal inlet of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain). L. saxatilis from this area shows a clear color cline with 3 distinct areas from the innermost to the more wave-exposed localities of the Ría: the inner, protected localities show an abundance of fawn-like individuals; the intermediate localities show a high diversity of colors; and the outer, wave-exposed localities show populations with a high frequency of a black and lineated morph. We compare data from the 1970s and 2022 in the same localities, showing that the cline has kept relatively stable for at least over half a century, except for some directional change and local variability in the frequency of certain morphs. Multiple regression analyses and biodiversity measures are presented to provide clues into the selective pressures that might be involved in the maintenance of this color cline. Future research avenues to properly test the explanatory power of these selective agents as well as the possible origins of the cline are discussed.</p>}},
author = {{Gefaell, Juan and Vigo, Ramón and González-Vázquez, A. Honorato and Galindo, Juan and Rolán-Alvarez, Emilio}},
issn = {{1674-5507}},
keywords = {{clinal variation; color polymorphism; ecological gradient; Littorina saxatilis; natural selection; wave exposure}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{04}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{163--173}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{Current Zoology}},
title = {{Temporal stability and directional change in a color cline of a marine snail from NW Spain}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoad009}},
doi = {{10.1093/cz/zoad009}},
volume = {{70}},
year = {{2024}},
}