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 obtai...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 environmen-tal 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 Ria 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 Ria: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.展开更多
基金support from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion(PID2021-124930NB-I00)Xunta de Galicia(GRC,ED431C 2020-05)+2 种基金Centro singular de Investigacion de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022,and the European Union(European Regional Development Fund-ERDF)Juan Galindo was funded by a JIN project(Jovenes Investigadores,Ministerio de Ciencia,Innovacion y Universidades,RTI2018-101274-J-100)Juan Gefaell was funded by a Xunta de Galicia Predoctoral Research Contract(ED481A-2021/274).
文摘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 environmen-tal 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 Ria 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 Ria: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.
