Studies of marine gastropods connecting natural history and evolutionary ecology 1.

DOI JASI Web Site Open Access
  • Irie Takahiro
    Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 自然史と進化生態学をつなぐ海産腹足類の研究（1）
  • 宮地賞受賞総説 自然史と進化生態学をつなぐ海産腹足類の研究(1)貝殻種内変異と形態分類
  • ミヤジショウ ジュショウ ソウセツ シゼンシ ト シンカ セイタイガク オ ツナグ カイサン フクソクルイ ノ ケンキュウ(1)カイガラシュ ナイ ヘンイ ト ケイタイ ブンルイ
  • ―貝殻種内変異と形態分類―
  • Intraspecific variation of shell characters and morphological taxonomy

Search this article

Abstract

Within-species phenotypic variation has long attracted the attention of ecologists, taxonomists, geneticists, and evolutionary biologists. This article focuses on marine gastropods and reviews how scientists have addressed the problem of intraspecific variation in shell morphology since the 1930s. The molluscan classification at the species level relied mainly on conchological traits, even after important biological ideas were advocated such as the biological species concept, New Systematics, population genetics, and modern evolutionary synthesis. The first half of this article briefly explains the ontogeny and ecology of Monetaria species to examine the conceptual background of their inter- and intraspecific classification developed in Germany in the 1930s. This is to emphasize how phenotypically plastic traits are not desirable as taxonomic traits under the biological species concept. The last half summarizes studies primarily by North American and Scandinavian scientists of the relationship between morphological variation and inducible defense against predators, i.e., crabs. Their systems with Littorina and Nucella are an excellent example of how rearing experiments using marine gastropods successfully contributed to progress in ecology. A lesson from history is that to draw robust, appropriate conclusions from the observed phenotypic variation in both taxonomy and evolutionary ecology, it is critical to quantify the genetic and environmental components separately.

Journal

Related Projects

See more

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top