Introductions / Feb 27

Introductions: from general to specific. What is missing? What is interesting to others? How can I fill in the gaps?

Introduction

Phenotypic plasticity, i.e. the ability of a particular genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to environmental variation (West-Eberhard, 1989; Thompson, 1991: Via et al., 1995: Zhivotovsky et al., 1996; DeWitt et al., 1998; Pigliucci, 2005), has been the object of considerable interest and debate over the past two decades (Brookes 2007). Will snails grow significantly different based on their location? There are undoubtedly a variety of conditions that would influence snail size, including current flows (Palmer, 1979), temperature (Atkinson, 1994: Palmer, 1979: Trussell, 2000), area predators (Brooks & Remy, 2007: DeWitt et al., 1998), food availability and type (Burrows & Hughes, 1991), optimal digesting (Menge, 1974: Burrows & Hughes, 1991), and genetic factors (Thompson, 1991: Marko, 1998: Maruyama and Birky, 1991). Another consideration would be to analyze the affluent conditions, or chemical composition to rule out area contaminants as an influencing factor.

Our analysis we will start with the baseline of having no altered conditions. With the use of existing empirical data (Price 2007) this will be reviewed. Our particular study looks at the species Nucella lamellosa, known more commonly as “Dogwhelk,” a snail that lives in the Pacific Northwest. Total mass measurements were taken of this species, in three samplings over a 24 day period. The two locations that Dogwhelks were taken from, include False Bay, and from the north side of Cantilever pier at Roche Harbor, both locations are unique intertidal habitats on San Juan Island, in Washington state (Price, 2007).

Treatments were fed in the same way, with barnacles from a third locality, Jackson Beach, also on San Juan Island. All the conditions, including flow rates, were the same across all replicates in the two treatments (Price, 2010, personal communication). Both of the localities are protected from waves and have do have crabs (Price, 2010, personal communication). Locations are approximately 18 km apart².