Veliger Size at Metamorphosis and Temporal Variability in Prodissoconch II Morphometry in the Blue Mussel ( Mytilus edulis

International audienc

A Method for Evaluating the Efficacy of Antifouling Paints Using Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Laboratory in a Flow-Through System

A laboratory test with a flow-through system was designed and its applicability for testing antifouling paints of varying efficacies was investigated. Six different formulations of antifouling paints were prepared to have increasing contents (0 to 40 wt.%) of Cu2O, which is the most commonly used antifouling substance, and each formulation of paint was coated on just one surface of every test plate. The test plates were aged for 45 days by rotating them at a speed of 10 knots inside a cylinder drum. A behavioral test was then conducted using five mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) that were pasted onto the coated surface of each aged test plate. The number of the byssus threads produced by each mussel generally decreased with increasing Cu2O content of the paint. The newly designed method was considered valid owing to the high consistency of its results with observations from the field experiment

The evolutionary ecology of fatty-acid variation : Implications for consumer adaptation and diversification

The nutritional diversity of resources can affect the adaptive evolution of consumer metabolism and consumer diversification. The omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) have a high potential to affect consumer fitness, through their widespread effects on reproduction, growth and survival. However, few studies consider the evolution of fatty acid metabolism within an ecological context. In this review, we first document the extensive diversity in both primary producer and consumer fatty acid distributions amongst major ecosystems, between habitats and amongst species within habitats. We highlight some of the key nutritional contrasts that can shape behavioural and/or metabolic adaptation in consumers, discussing how consumers can evolve in response to the spatial, seasonal and community-level variation of resource quality. We propose a hierarchical trait-based approach for studying the evolution of consumers' metabolic networks and review the evolutionary genetic mechanisms underpinning consumer adaptation to EPA and DHA distributions. In doing so, we consider how the metabolic traits of consumers are hierarchically structured, from cell membrane function to maternal investment, and have strongly environment-dependent expression. Finally, we conclude with an outlook on how studying the metabolic adaptation of consumers within the context of nutritional landscapes can open up new opportunities for understanding evolutionary diversification