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Small spatial scale effects of wave action exposure on morphological traits of the limpet Lottia subrugosa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2019

Edson A. Vieira  and
Marília Bueno
Edson A. Vieira*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas – UNICAMP, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
Marília Bueno
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas – UNICAMP, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Edson A. Vieira, Email: edsonvfmar@gmail.com
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Abstract

Many studies have already assessed how wave action may affect morphology of intertidal species among sites that vary in wave exposure, but few attempted to look to this issue in smaller scales. Using the most common limpet of the Brazilian coast, Lottia subrugosa, and assuming position on rocky boulders as a proxy for wave action at small scale, we tested the hypothesis that waves may also influence limpet morphology at a smaller spatial scale by investigating how individual size, foot area and shell shape vary between sheltered and exposed boulder sides on three shores in the coast of Ubatuba, Brazil. Limpets consistently showed a proportionally larger foot on exposed boulder sides for all shores, indicating that stronger attachment is an important mechanism to deal with wave action dislodgement at a smaller scale. Shell shape also varied in the scale investigated here, with more conical (dissipative) shells occurring in exposed boulder sides in one exposed shore across time and in the other exposed shore in one year. Shell shape did not vary regarding boulder sides across time in the most sheltered shore. Although we did not assess large spatial scale effects of wave action in this study, variations of the effect of waves at small spatial scale observed for shell shape suggest that it may be modulated by the local wave exposure regime. Our work highlights the importance of wave action at small spatial scales, and may help to understand the ecological variability of limpets inhabiting rocky shores.

Keywords

Dislodgementenergy dissipationgastropod attachmentrocky shoreshell shape
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 6 , September 2019 , pp. 1309 - 1315
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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Footnotes

*

Current Address: Departamento de Oceanografia e Limnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av Via Costeira Senador Dinarte Medeiros Mariz, 59014-002, Natal, RN, Brazil.

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