The authors addressed certain questions concerning the evolution of defenses in Mexipyrgus.

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Biology Articles » Evolutionary Biology » Spatial mosaic evolution of snail defensive traits » Conclusion

Conclusion

- Spatial mosaic evolution of snail defensive traits

Spatial variation in two prey defense traits, crushing resistance and shell pigmentation, exhibits striking variation at small spatial scales often associated with habitat differences in primary productivity and substrate coloration. These local geographic differences may result from among-habitat variation in how resource productivity interacts to promote escalation in prey defenses. Because molariform H. minckleyi undoubtedly use their jaws to crush snails, Cuatro Ciénegas may represent an ideal system for investigating mosaic predator-prey coevolution. In future studies, we plan to examine local adaptation of molariforms, escalation of molariform traits in resource rich environments, and heritability and phenotypic plasticity of both crushing resistance and pigmentation across resource gradients.