Biogeographic Variation in an Intertidal Predator-Prey Interaction: Does Coastal Oceanography Alter the Adaptive Landscape?

越来越多的分子研究表明，海洋种群之间的扩散和基因流动往往比传统上认识到的要少。然而，到目前为止，我们对亚种群之间的连通性降低如何影响海洋群落的生态和进化知之甚少。理论表明，当基因流受到限制，底栖生物种群分布沿着海岸线可能会对选择压力的空间变化作出反应。最近的工作突出了海洋学过程，如沿海上升流可能对底栖物种的补充，生长和繁殖的生态影响。由于这些自下而上的影响往往在空间上是一致的，它们也可能在当地社区的动态中留下重要的演变特征。特别是，共同出现在不同的海洋制度的物种可能有相互作用，通过当地的适应不同的形状。 沟螺（Nucella canaliculata）是一种食肉腹足类动物，生活在沿着北美太平洋海岸的潮间带贻贝Mytilus californianus的波浪暴露床中。沿着加州海岸，努塞拉经常钻这种贻贝。相比之下，海螺很少以M.沿着俄勒冈州海岸。以前的工作表明，这种钻井行为的显着差异可能有遗传基础，线粒体序列变异证实了这种海螺种群之间的基因流很低。此外，这种海螺贻贝的相互作用发生在数百公里，嵌入潮间带社区，由于沿海涌升强度的区域变化而显着不同。因此，珠母贝贻贝的相互作用是一个理想的系统，在海洋过程的空间变化的背景下，检查维护和当地的适应性的后果。一组协调的现场和实验室研究将被用来评估五个假设：-在青春痘钻行为的变化有遗传基础。- 钻孔行为的横向变化是通过当地的适应产生的;钻孔品种在其本土网站比在国外网站经历更高的适应性。- 当地的适应模式是由贻贝的相对丰度介导的适应性权衡驱动的。加利福尼亚州。固着猎物的招聘和丰富的差异很大，加州和俄勒冈州。- 这种海螺贻贝相互作用的垂直变化具有重要的社区水平的后果。 越来越多的证据表明，海洋种群之间存在遗传分化，这突出表明必须了解海洋系统中基因流动受限的后果。通过整合生态学和进化的方法，拟议的研究将增加我们对当地适应如何在海洋群落动态中产生地理变化的理解。更广泛的影响涉及培训本科生，包括来自少数民族和代表性不足群体的REU学生。 此外，该项目将在教育和宣传工作中得到突出，包括在博德加海洋实验室的方案、图尔斯和公开展示。

A growing body of molecular studies suggests that dispersal and gene flow among marine populations are often less than traditionally recognized. However, to date, we know very little about how reduced connectivity among subpopulations influences the ecology and evolution of marine communities. Theory suggests that when gene flow is restricted, benthic populations distributed along a coastline may respond to spatial variation in selection pressures. Recent work highlights the ecological effects that oceanographic processes such as coastal upwelling can have on the recruitment, growth, and reproduction of benthic species. Because these bottom-up effects are often spatially consistent, they may also leave an important evolutionary signature on the dynamics of local communities. In particular, species that co-occur in different oceanographic regimes may have interactions that are shaped differently through local adaptation. The Channeled Whelk, Nucella canaliculata, is a predatory gastropod found living along the Pacific coast of North America in wave-exposed beds of the intertidal mussel Mytilus californianus. Along the coast of California, Nucella frequently drills this mussel. In contrast, whelks rarely feed on M. californianus along the Oregon coast. Previous work suggests that this striking difference in drilling behavior may have a genetic basis, and mitochondrial sequence variation confirms that gene flow is low among populations of this whelk. Moreover, this whelk-mussel interaction occurs over hundreds of kilometers, embedded within intertidal communities that differ dramatically as a result of regional variation in the intensity of coastal upwelling. The Nucella-Mytilus interaction is thus an ideal system for examining the maintenance and consequences of local adaptation within the context of spatial variation in oceanographic processes. A set of coordinated field and laboratory studies will be used to evaluate five hypotheses: - Variation in whelk drilling behavior has a genetic basis. - Latitudinal variation in drilling behavior arises through local adaptation; drilling varieties experience higher fitness at their native sites than at foreign sites. - Patterns of local adaptation are driven by a fitness trade-off mediated by the relative abundance of the mussels Mytilus trossulus and M. californianus.- The recruitment and abundance of sessile prey differ sharply between California and Oregon. - Latitudinal variation in this whelk-mussel interaction has important community-level consequences. Growing evidence of genetic differentiation among marine populations highlights the importance of understanding the consequences of restricted gene flow in marine systems. By integrating ecological and evolutionary approaches, the proposed research will increase our understanding of how local adaptation may generate biogeographic variation in the dynamics of marine communities. The broader impacts involve training undergraduates including REU students from minority and underrepresented groups. In addition, this project will be highlighted in education and outreach efforts including programs, tours, and public displays at Bodega Marine Laboratory.