The Shape And Thickness Of Intertidal Snail Littorina Obtusata

Alterations of environmental conditions appear constant to aquatic organisms that live within rocky shore ecosystems. The Zebra-top Snail was examined species within the following report, found on intertidal rocky shores of south-east and West Australia. The reaction and mass change of the Zebra-top Snail was examined whist carrying out this experiment. It was hypothesised that the Snails placed into higher salinity water will attempt to find higher ground, and their mass will be less than their original weight. The Snails were placed in water, each containing different amounts of salinity, as the rate of reaction was examined. The Snails placed in greater salinity showed a significant response in reaction within 10 minutes of observations.

Limpets (Patella vulgate) live in algae rich environments on rocky shores. . It has been proposed that in more sheltered areas, limpet shells will grow to be flatter with a larger diameter, while in more exposed areas of coastline, they will grow a taller and narrower shell shape. To find out whether or not the shores of Aberdeen reflected this, samples were taken from two sites (Site A and Site B) along the Aberdeen coastline that varied in their exposure to wave action. The sites were chosen to provide two sample sites with a notable difference in their environment. In the more sheltered site A, limpets were not exposed to harsh waves, while at site B, there was significantly more wave action. Quadrats were used at both sites to provide an area of sampling for the limpets and they were placed around 5 meters from the waterline. The overall results from the study showed that there is a very strong relationship between diameter and height in Limpet shells and that there was an incredibly slight difference in the relationship between the two sites.

Evolution is one of the most important factors when looking at history. A crucial moment in evolutionary process is speciation. Fortunately, we have the fossil record of a transitional species called tiktaalik. Tiktaalik was the transitional species of sea creature that would evolve into a land creature. It was found on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian arctic and is believed to be around 383 million years old (Class Lecture).

Over the last several years, evolution has been playing an increasingly important role in determining how various species are evolving. This is because ecology will have an impact on how quickly a particular organism is able to adapt (with: the unique challenges for a particular environment). To determine the effect that this is having requires carefully examining different species over the course of many years. This will be accomplished by comparing these changes on Darwin and Wallace Islands. Once this occurs, is when specific insights will be provided that are highlighting the underlying challenges affecting the development of organisms. This is the point that these transformations will be evident among the various life forms. (Fasolo, 2011, pp. 53 68)

Biologists Robin Seeley conducted an experiment in which she gathered periwinkle snail shells on Appledore Island and measures their thickness. The time period in which she has found the snails was before the inhabitation of the European green crab. Eighty years later, the shell thickness of the snails were measured again and recorded. This time, the inhabitation of the european green crab has increased significantly and the thickness of the snail shells has increased. She has concluded that when the crabs arrived on the island, they began to eat the thin shelled snails because their shells were easier to crack.

• Conch: name give to a number of sea snails, also known by their shell

Green crabs are found in shallow ocean waters and they have a preference for sheltered areas. They are an aggressive and territorial crab species (CBC, 2012). Although this species is known as the “green crab”, they are not always green. In fact, this species of crab can range from a variety of colors such as red, orange, brown, blue and yellow; the colors often depend on when the crab last exuviated. Due to the fact that green crabs cannot be distinguished solely by color, they are often confused with other crab species such as the rock crab. A few ways to distinguish the European green crab from other crabs is by 5 pointy spines which are located on the front end of the carapace on either side of the eye as cited by GOV, (2013) and 3 rounded lobes located between the eyes. European green crabs are also distinguished by their claws of different sizes and the way the tips of its back legs are pointed, flattened and hairy. A European green crab generally doesn’t surpass 4 inches (appx. 100 mm) and an average green crab is approximately 2.5 inches (appx. 63 mm) (Peters et al. 2004). Male green crabs typically range from 40-70mm whereas female green crabs ranged from 40-65mm. If these crabs, male or female, surpassed their average size they were classified as old adults (Yamada and Gillespie, 2008). The adult green crab can survive out of the water for

1. Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish, and his colleagues travel to Ellesmere Island to look for and study the shift from fish living in water to creatures living on land (4). Fossils from 360 million years ago include amphibians and reptiles. Fossils 385 million years old, only fish are found. Because of this, Shubin and his colleagues look at the time in the middle of this, 375 million years ago (10). In 2004, they give it another try, after failed previous tries (21). What gradually emerges from the rocks they searched for in the bottom of the quarry is an “intermediate” right between fish and land animals, Tiktaalik, “large freshwater fish” (22-25).

This lab is based off of European Green Crabs preying on Periwinkle Snails. From the name, one can tell the European Crab originated in Europe and is not native to North America. The crab ranged its expansion north of Cape Cod, where Periwinkle snails were introduced to a new predator. (McRae, 2015-pg. 1)

Slow-moving ocean snails also known as geographic cone snail (Conus geographus) are notified in this article to overdose their prey with toxic cloud containing insulin and nirvana cabal. The geographic cone snails’ toxic rapidly decreases the blood sugar levels to throw their prey in a state of near-consciousness. Once their prey is in a state of near-consciousness, the geographic cone snail catches their prey with what is called a false mouth because it looks like the geographic cone snail is throwing a cape over their prey and drags their prey into their mouth. Helen Safavi- Hemami ,who studies the toxins at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City , have not seen any other animal with this capability with the exception of humans which there

The fossil of Tiktaalik confirmed a major prediction of paleontology in that it showed characteristics of both aquatic animals, such as fish, and land animals, such as reptiles and amphibians. While it had fins and scales, it also had a flexible neck, a flat head, and complex bone structure in its fins that correspond with the structure of the legs of terrestrial animals. Thus, it demonstrates the evolutionary transition between aquatic and terrestrial life.

In the science of paleontology, the history of life is studied. Paleontologists study fossils to learn the past ecologies, evolution, and the origins of humans. In order to understand the processes that have led to both the origination and destruction of organisms since life began, paleontologists incorporate both scientific knowledge and studies. Fossil findings are critically important for confirming predictions of evolution theory. Of the many discoveries that are made yearly to add depth to the understanding of evolution, an example is a recent discovery of a creature they named Tiktaalik. The Tiktaalik was uncovered to be a transitional animal between shallow-water fishes and limbed animals. The creature supports the idea that it emerged from both mammals and reptiles, suggesting that the two are related. These findings support prediction of evolution, contradicting the belief that God

Slugs’ bodies are made out of mostly water, and without a full size shell. Slugs come in an outstanding variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. There’s two types of slugs the sea slug and the land slug.The sea slug doesn’t have a shell, but some land slugs have shells. Land slug are larger than the sea slugs. One thing that land slugs don’t have that sea slug do is gills on their backs.

Achatina fulica, commonly known as the giant African snail, is an invasive species native to Africa, of very large, air-breathing land snails that can reach up to 20 cm in length and 10 cm in diameter. The United States Department of Agriculture considers the Giant African Snail to be one of the most damaging species for the agriculture and crops in the country. It consumes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and is known to eat at least 500 different types of plants. The giant African snail is becoming a significant agricultural pest in the U.S., and can pose a serious health risk to humans. Possession of this snail is illegal in many countries, including the continental United States. This snail is listed as one of the top 100 invasive species in the world and large colonies of this species can be accumulated from just one individual. (Vázquez, Sánchez, Martínez, and Alba 2016)

These techniques led to the discovery of the boundary between the two eras. A single thin layer of clay found within predominantly limestone rocks established this. By comparing the marine life found in, above, and below the clay, the marine life, like the dinosaurs, had been terribly affected by the extinction event. The percentage of life in the upper layers was dramatically lower than that in the lower. This was far more compelling than what was suggested by dinosaur’s fossils.