fluctuating helical asymmetry and morphology of snails (gastropoda) in divergent microhabitats at ‘evolution canyons i and ii,’ israel螺旋波动不对称和形态学的蜗牛(腹足纲)发散隐居在u201c进化峡谷i和ii,u201d以色列.pdfVIP

Fluctuating Helical Asymmetry and Morphology of Snails (Gastropoda) in Divergent Microhabitats at ‘Evolution Canyons I and II,’ Israel 1,2 3 4 1 3 Shmuel Raz *, Nathan P. Schwartz , Hendrik K. Mienis , Eviatar Nevo , John H. Graham 1 Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, 2 Rowland Institute at Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America, 3 Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, Georgia, United States of America, 4 The Steinhardt National Collections of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Abstract Background: Developmental instability of shelled gastropods is measured as deviations from a perfect equiangular (logarithmic) spiral. We studied six species of gastropods at ‘Evolution Canyons I and II’ in Carmel and the Galilee Mountains, Israel, respectively. The xeric, south-facing, ‘African’ slopes and the mesic, north-facing, ‘European’ slopes have dramatically different microclimates and plant communities. Moreover, ‘Evolution Canyon II’ receives more rainfall than ‘Evolution Canyon I.’ Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined fluctuating asymmetry, rate of whorl expansion, shell height, and number of rotations of the body suture in six species of terrestrial snails from the two ‘Evolution Canyons.’ The xeric ‘African’ slope should be more stressful to land snails than the ‘European’ slope, and ‘Evolution Canyon I’ should be more stressful than ‘Evolution Canyon II.’ Only Eopolita protensa jebusitica showed marginally significant differences in fluctua