Shaving a Shell: Effect of Manipulated Sculpture and Feeding on Shell Growth and Sculpture Development in Nucella lamellosa (Muricidae: Ocenebrinae)

The Biological Bulletin
Nicole B Webster, A R Palmer

Abstract

Gastropod shell sculpture offers a novel tool for studying morphological patterning. Existing shell features may be manipulated experimentally to test how alteration affects subsequent shell growth and form. Axial sculpture occurs in many gastropod groups, and spacing of sculpture may be regular or irregular. But how gastropods control sculpture placement during shell growth is unknown. We studied the growth and positioning of axial lamellae in the muricid Nucella lamellosa, and compared these to the superficially similar axial varices seen in other muricids. First, we tested whether the feeding rate had any effect on the rate of addition or positioning of new lamellae. Second, we tested what effect previous shell sculpture had on lamellar placement, and shell growth in general, by removing all shell sculpture and allowing snails to grow over the "shaved" shell surface. Lamellar growth appeared to be relatively plastic; spacing was highly variable both within and among individual snails, and 1-2 weeks were required to complete the addition of a new lamella. Body growth rate was the primary determinant of lamellar growth; past lamellae had no effect on placement of new lamellae or rate of shell length increase. Feeding rate and ...Continue Reading

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