Massive polymorphism and natural selection in Donacilla cornea (Poli, 1791) (Bivalvia: Mesodesmatidae)

Abstract

We describe a massive polymorphism for shell colour and pattern in Donacilla cornea, a shallow-burrowing bivalve which inhabits the mid-littoral of sandy and stony beaches in southern and western Europe. Of the four sites studied, the one where the substrate was a mixture of small stones and sand contained the highest densities of Donacilla. At this site the densities of stones and animals and the frequencies of shell and stone colour phenotypes are both highly correlated. Although the four populations sampled comprise a similar range of phenotypes, the frequencies of most morphs and population diversity indices differ significantly between sites. At two sites the similar range of colour and pattern variation between shells and substrate suggests selection for crypsis and masquerade. On the other hand, at two other sites, one or two common phenotypes (and a number of rare ones at all sites) fail to mimic any aspect of the background. We therefore suggest that if frequency-dependent selection by predators is responsible for the maintenance of polymorphism in Donacilla, then the mechanisms involved include crypsis and masquerade in some cases and selective advantages from being different in others.