Abstract
Littorina tenebrosa is a small fragile-shelled periwinkle which lives on permanently submerged algae in coastal lagoons and non-tidal brackish pools. This periwinkle is a member of the rough periwinkle group which also comprises Littorina saxatilis, L. arcana, L. compressa and L. neglecta and is most closely related to L. saxatilis although its exact systematic status is in some doubt. Based on its unique ecology many believe L. tenebrosa to be a valid species. However, shell morphometric and allozyme analyses on Scottish and Swedish populations of L. tenebrosa and L. saxatilis have indicated that the two periwinkles are virtually identical. Preliminary results on five allozyme loci (AAT-1, GPI, PGM-1, PGM-2 and PNP) in samples of L. tenebrosa and L. saxatilis from Golam Head, Lettermullen, and other locations on the west coast of Ireland show L. tenebrosa to be genetically differentiated from L. saxatilis. At Golam Head, where opportunities for gene flow occur between the two taxa, L. tenebrosa is as genetically differentiated from local L. saxatilis as it is from L. saxatilis from more geographically distant locations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barnes, R. S. K., 1989. The coastal lagoons of Britain: an overview and conservation appraisal. Biol. Cons. 49: 295–313.
Barnes, R. S. K., 1993. On the nature of the coastal lagoon winkles attributed to Littorina tenebrosa and Littorina saxatilis. Cah. Biol. mar. 34: 477–495.
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. & A. W. F. Edwards, 1967. Phylogenetic analysis: models and estimation procedures. Am. J. hum. Genet. 19: 233–257.
Crossland, S., D. Coates, J. Grahame & P. J. Mill, 1993. Use of random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) in separating two sibling species of Littorina. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 96: 301–305.
Crossland, S., D. Coates, J. Grahame & P. J. Mill, 1996. The Littorina saxatilis species complex — interpretation using random amplified polymorphic DNAs. In J. Taylor (ed.), Origin and Evolutionary Radiation of the Mollusca, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 205–209.
Farris, J. S., 1972. Estimating phylogenetic trees from distance matrices. Am. Nat. 106: 645–668.
Fretter, V. & A. Graham, 1980. The Prosobranch Molluscs of Britain and Denmark. V. Marine Littorinacea. J. moll. Stud. Suppl. 7: 243–283.
Hull, S. L., J. Grahame & P. J. Mill, 1996. Morphological divergence and evidence for reproductive isolation in Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) in northeast England. J. moll. Stud. 62: 89–99.
Janson, K. & R. D. Ward, 1985. The taxonomic status of Littorina tenebrosa Montagu as assessed by morphological and genetic analysis. J. Conch. 32: 9–15.
Johannesson, K. & B. Johannesson, 1995. Dispersal and population expansion in a direct developing marine snail (Littorina saxatilis) following a severe population bottleneck. Hydrobiologia 309: 173–180.
Johannesson, B. & K. Johannesson, 1996. Population differences in behaviour and morphology in the snail Littorina saxatilis: phenotypic plasticity or genetic differentiation? J. Zool., Lond. 240: 475–493.
Johannesson, K., B. Johannesson & E. Rolán-Alvarez, 1993. Morphological differentiation and genetic cohesiveness over a microenvironmental gradient in the marine snail Littorina saxatilis. Evolution 47: 1770–1787.
Johannesson, K., E. Rolán-Alvarez & J. Erlandsson, 1997. Growth rate differences between upper and lower shore ecotypes of the marine snail Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) (Gastropoda). Biol. J. linn. Soc. 61:267–279.
Knight, A. J., R. N. Hughes & R. D. Ward, 1987. A striking example of the founder effect in the mollusc Littorina saxatilis. Biol. J. linn. Soc. 32: 417–426.
Raymond, M. & F. Rousset, 1995. A population genetics software for exact tests and ecumenicism. J. Hered. 86: 248–249.
Reid, D. G., 1996. Systematics and evolution of Littorina. The Ray Society, London. 463 pp.
Selander, R. K., M. H. Smith, S. Y. Yang, W E. Johnson & J. R. Gentry, 1971. Biochemical polymorphism and systematics in the genus Peromyscus. I. Variation in the old-field mouse (Peromyscus polionotus). Studies in Genetics VI. University of Texas Publication 7103: 49–90.
Smith, S., 1982. A review of the genus Littorina in British and Atlantic waters (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia). Malacologia 22: 535–539.
Swofford, D. L. & R. K. Selander, 1981. BIOSYS-1: a FORTRAN program for the comprehensive analysis of electrophoretic data in population genetics and systematics. J. Hered. 72: 281–283.
Ward, R. D. & K. Janson, 1985. A genetic analysis of sympatric populations of the sibling species Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) and Littorina arcana Hannaford Ellis. J. moll. Stud. 51: 86–94.
Ward, R. D. & T. Warwick, 1980. Genetic diferentiation in the molluscan species Littorina rudis and Littorina arcana (Prosobranchia: Littorinidae). Biol. J. linn. Soc. 14: 417–428.
Ward, R. D., T. Warwick & A. J. Knight, 1986. Genetic analysis of ten polymorphic enzyme loci in Littorina saxatilis (Prosobranchia: Mollusca). Heredity 57: 233–241.
Weir, B. S., 1990. Genetic Data Analysis, Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, USA, 377 pp.
Wilson, I. F. & E. M. Gosling, 1998. Genetic variability in Littorina saxatilis from different habitats on an island in Galway Bay. Hydrobiologia 378: 1–10.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Gosling, E.M., Wilson, I.F., Andrews, J. (1998). A preliminary study on genetic differentiation in Littorina saxatilis from Galway Bay, Ireland: Littorina tenebrosa Montagu — a valid species or ecotype?. In: O’Riordan, R.M., Burnell, G.M., Davies, M.S., Ramsay, N.F. (eds) Aspects of Littorinid Biology. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 133. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5336-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5336-2_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6243-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5336-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive