Effects of intra-population variation in dogwhelk drilling on the abundance and size of Mytilus californianus mussels

Few eco-evolutionary studies have analyzed the impacts that evolutionary processes have on community dynamics in a natural field setting. We studied the effects of intra-population variation in predation in a marine dogwhelk (Nucella canaliculata) on mussel bed succession. We outplanted dogwhelks that were reared on four early-life diet treatments and showed evidence of differential mortality and variation in drilling capacity in the lab to experimental field cages and followed the trajectory of succession over the course of a year. At the end of the experiment, the organisms within the cages were collected and the mussels (Mytilus californianus) were measured. Mussels represent the end stage of succession, thus we studied whether variation in drilling traits would impact the size and structure of the mussel bed.

鲜有生态进化（eco-evolutionary）研究在自然野外环境中探究进化过程对群落动态的影响。本研究以海洋蛾螺（Nucella canaliculata）为研究对象，探究其种群内捕食行为变异对贻贝床演替的影响。我们将经四种早期日粮处理饲养、且在实验室中表现出死亡率差异与钻孔能力变异的蛾螺，移植至野外实验笼中，并持续追踪了为期一年的演替轨迹。实验结束后，我们收集了实验笼内的所有生物，并对加州贻贝（Mytilus californianus）进行了测量。由于贻贝是演替的顶级阶段，因此本研究旨在探究钻孔性状变异是否会对贻贝床的规模与结构产生影响。