Abstract
The salt marsh periwinkle, Littorina irrorata, exhibits a spatial refuge from predation by climbing the stems of Spartina alterniflora in order to avoid benthic predators. Salt marsh periwinkles have a broad geographic distribution, and for many species, responses to predators also varies with biogeography. This study sought to determine if the geographical location of the home marsh influenced the response of periwinkles (climbing height) to blue crab predator cues both via air and water. Snails from Louisiana (LA) climbed higher in general than those from North Carolina (NC), regardless of chemical cue. However, LA snails climbed 11 cm higher in the presence of waterborne predators than control snails with no cue, while NC snails only climbed five cm higher in the same comparisons. Airborne chemical cue tended to have snails climbing at intermediate heights. These responses were significantly enhanced when both populations of snails were housed together. Periwinkle response to predator cues was stronger in LA than NC, and so it is possible that the behavioral response of these snails to predators varies with biogeography of the home marsh. Also interestingly, the results of this study also suggest that cue delivery is probably occurring via mechanisms other than water, and potentially via airborne cues. Therefore, salt marsh periwinkles likely respond to numerous cues that initiate behavioral responses, including airborne cues, and these responses may vary by home-marsh geography.
Highlights
Predation is one of the most important interactions affecting marine populations (Connell, 1975; Behrens Yamada, Navarrete & Needham, 1998)
LA snails climbed significantly higher than North Carolina (NC) snails (p < 0.001), there was a significant interaction between the two fixed factors (p < 0.001), suggesting the response in the different snail populations varied dependent upon the cue treatment (Fig. 2)
There was a trend in the LA snails to climb higher when exposed to predator cues, there was high variability within each treatment, and these trends were not significant (Fig. 2)
Summary
Predation is one of the most important interactions affecting marine populations (Connell, 1975; Behrens Yamada, Navarrete & Needham, 1998). As a result of intense predation pressure, prey have evolved various means to reduce predation risk that vary on ecological and evolutionary timescales (Vermeij, 1982; Trussell & Smith, 2000). Predators have increasingly been demonstrated to rapidly induce prey defenses, which act to reduce prey vulnerability (Trussell & Smith, 2000). These inducible defenses occur across diverse taxa and include fast growth, chemical defenses, skeleton thickening, changes in behavior, and using refugia (Harvell, 1990; Berenbaum & Zangerl, 1999)
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