Influence of ecological role on bathymetric patterns of deep-sea species: size clines in parasitic gastropods

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 320:161-167 (2006) - doi:10.3354/meps320161 Influence of ecological role on bathymetric patterns of deep-sea species: size clines in parasitic gastropods Craig R. McClain1,3,*, Jennifer Crouse2 1Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA 2Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, Massachusetts 02125, USA 3Present address: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, California 95039, USA *Email: mcclainc@unm.edu ABSTRACT: How an organism’s phenotype responds to both its biotic and abiotic environment is a complex interplay of selection pressures and adaptive tradeoffs. Bathymetric patterns of body size in deep-sea organisms should also reflect both ecological role and taxon-specific constraints, as exemplified in a variety of recent studies. Here, we examine bathymetric size clines in deep-sea ectoparasites, a group that has received little attention in the literature compared to other deep-sea groups. Specifically, we focus on body size in 3 families (21 species) of ptenoglossate gastropods from the deep western North Atlantic, conducting analyses both within and among species. Both quantile and linear regression models yielded non-significant relationships for body size and depth for the 3 most abundant species. Two of the 3 families exhibited positive size–depth relationships, but only in mean size. The findings indicate that resource availability/host size may control parasite density, but dislodgement and predation risk may set a hard upper boundary on body size in deep-sea ectoparasites. Moreover, this study stresses the necessity of understanding the ecological role of species in investigating body size trends. KEY WORDS: Body size · Deep sea · Quantile regression · Ectoparasite · Gastropod · Western North Atlantic · Benthic · Parasitism Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 320. Online publication date: August 29, 2006 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2006 Inter-Research.