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Allometric differences on the shell shape of two scorched mussel species along the Atlantic South American Coast

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Abstract

Scorched mussels (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) are an important component of rocky shore assemblages around the world. The mussel beds of the mid-intertidal coasts of the south-western Atlantic are composed of two species of scorched mussels, which dominate the physiognomy and structure of the rocky shore communities. The present study investigates the variation in the shell-shape allometric trajectories of both species of mussels throughout their distributional range in the southwestern Atlantic coast, from latitude 34°S to 53°S. Shells of Brachidontes rodriguezii were collected at two Uruguayan localities and four Argentinean localities, while shells of Perumytilus purpuratus were collected at six Argentinean localities. Shell shapes of the specimens were studied by geometric morphometrics using landmark and semi-landmark methods. Different evolutionary histories and thermal regimes characterize these two species. Brachidontes rodriguezii seems to have a long history in the region and is present in a restricted area, the warm temperate region of the south-western Atlantic, while P. purpuratus seems to have a recent history and is present in a wide thermal range, involving the cold-temperate regions of the south-western Atlantic and south-eastern Pacific and the warm-temperate region of the south-eastern Pacific. Based on these considerations, we prompt the hypothesis that allometric trajectories of P. purpuratus shell shape is more variable and adapted to a specific habitat than B. rodriguezii. The impact of allometry was larger in P. purpuratus than in B. rodriguezii. Graphical evidence was gathered, showing that these two species differ in allometric growth forms and that the allometric shell morphology changes reflect environmental constraints and adaptation. While the intertidal mussel beds of the South American coasts are ecologically similar in appearance, we found that the allometric variation of the scorched mussels occurs in response to diverging evolutionary processes such as phenotypic plasticity in P. purpuratus and canalization in B. rodriguezii.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Evangelina Schwindt, Veronica Savoya and Facundo Saleme for their help in the field and laboratory. Financial support was provided by the projects PIP1122015-0100241CO and PICT2015-3696 (FM). We thank the anonymous reviewers and Editorial Board Member for their thoughtful comments that enhanced the original version of this paper. This is publication #98 of the Laboratorio de Reproducción y Biología Integrativa de Invertebrados Marinos (LARBIM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBIOMAR, Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos – CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Federico Márquez & Rocío A. Nieto-Vilela

  2. UNPSJB, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Blvd. Brown 3100, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    Federico Márquez & Rocío A. Nieto-Vilela

  3. CONICET, Museo de La Plata -Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Mariana L. Adami

  4. IDEAus, Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral - CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Berenice Trovant

  5. IPCSH, Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas- CONICET, Boulevard Brown 2915, U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Rolando González-José

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  1. Federico Márquez
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  2. Mariana L. Adami
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  3. Berenice Trovant
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  4. Rocío A. Nieto-Vilela
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Correspondence to Federico Márquez.

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Márquez, F., Adami, M.L., Trovant, B. et al. Allometric differences on the shell shape of two scorched mussel species along the Atlantic South American Coast. Evol Ecol 32, 43–56 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-018-9928-5

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