Blue mussel shell shape plasticity and natural environments: a quantitative approach.

ABSTRACT: Shape variability represents an important direct response of organisms to selective environments. Here, we use a combination of geometric morphometrics and generalised additive mixed models (GAMMs) to identify spatial patterns of natural shell shape variation in the North Atlantic and Arctic blue mussels, Mytilus edulis and M. trossulus, with environmental gradients of temperature, salinity and food availability across 3980 km of coastlines. New statistical methods and multiple study systems at various geographical scales allowed the uncoupling of the developmental and genetic contributions to shell shape and made it possible to identify general relationships between blue mussel shape variation and environment that are independent of age and species influences. We find salinity had the str

SUBMITTER: Telesca L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5809382 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature