Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

Name: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart
Published: 2025-12-29
Keywords: green crab, Predation risk, phenotypic plasticity, geographic variation, ocean temperature, biota, oceans

ValidatedFinal no updates expectedDOI: 10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.990830.1Version 1 (2025-12-29)Dataset Type:Unknown

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

The impact of invasive predators during the early stages of invasion is often variable in space and time. Such variation is expected to initially favor plasticity in prey defenses but fixed defenses as invaders become established. Coincident with the range expansion of the invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas) in the Gulf of Maine we document rapid changes in shell thickness – a key defense against shell crushing predators – of an intertidal snail (Littorina obtusata). These data summarize the r...

Cite Dataset

Spatial Extent: N:44.82 E:-66.97 S:42.56 W:-70.77
Temporal Extent: 1998 - 2018
Quoddy Head, Maine and Lobster Cove, Massachusetts

44

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7

Downloads

These numbers come from web analytics and reflect real user activity on the site. They reliably show dataset usage and are mostly free of bot traffic.

This dataset is part of a broader study conducted in the Gulf of Maine to investigate phenotypic plasticity of prey species in response to predator invasion and warming oceans:

Green crab surveys plus historical crab density data (dataset 990378)
Green crab density from field studies at rocky intertidal sites from April 2019 to December 2021 (dataset 911365)
Latitudinal (clinal) variation in Littorina obtusata shell thickness and tissue mass (dataset 990839)
Field experiment outplanting Littorina obtusata with predators (green crabs) to examine local and regional geographic variation in inducible defenses conducted from April to August 2021 (dataset 911221)
Morphological data from reciprocal transplant experiment in the field (this dataset)

See Related Datasets section below for links and additional details.

Related Datasets

Trussell, G. C., Corbett, J. J. (2023) Green crab (Carcinus maenas) density at rocky intertidal sites determined at 8 sites in the Gulf of Maine from April 2019 to December 2021. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2023-10-12 doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.911365.1

Trussell, G. C., Corbett, J. J. (2025) Green Crab Density for Multiple Sites in the Gulf of Maine for 1973, 2003, 2017-2018 and 2021. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2025-12-10 http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset/990378

Trussell, G. C., Corbett, J. J. (2025) Latitudinal variation in the shell thickness and tissue mass of Littorina obtusata snails in 1995-1997 and 2017-2018. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2025-12-30 http://lod.bco-dmo.org/id/dataset/990839

IsSupplementedBy

Dataset: Outplant Experiment

Trussell, G. C., Corbett, J. J. (2023) Littorina obtusata shell length, shell thickness, and tissue mass measured during a field experiment conducted at 12 sites in the Gulf of Maine from April to August 2021. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2023-10-11 doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.911221.1

Related Publications

Results

Corbett, J. J., & Trussell, G. C. (2025). Evolution in changing seas: The loss of plasticity under predator invasion and warming oceans. Science Advances, 11(6). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr6947

Methods

Palmer, A.R. (1982). Growth in marine gastropods. A non-destructive technique for independently measuring shell and body weight. Malacologia 23: 63-74.

Methods

Trussell, G. C., & Smith, L. D. (2000). Induced defenses in response to an invading crab predator: An explanation of historical and geographic phenotypic change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(5), 2123–2127. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.040423397

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Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

ValidatedFinal no updates expectedDOI: 10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.990830.1Version 1 (2025-12-29)Dataset Type:Unknown

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

Cite Dataset

Spatial Extent: N:44.82 E:-66.97 S:42.56 W:-70.77
Temporal Extent: 1998 - 2018
Quoddy Head, Maine and Lobster Cove, Massachusetts

44

Views

7

Downloads

These numbers come from web analytics and reflect real user activity on the site. They reliably show dataset usage and are mostly free of bot traffic.

This dataset is part of a broader study conducted in the Gulf of Maine to investigate phenotypic plasticity of prey species in response to predator invasion and warming oceans:

Green crab surveys plus historical crab density data (dataset 990378)
Green crab density from field studies at rocky intertidal sites from April 2019 to December 2021 (dataset 911365)
Latitudinal (clinal) variation in Littorina obtusata shell thickness and tissue mass (dataset 990839)
Field experiment outplanting Littorina obtusata with predators (green crabs) to examine local and regional geographic variation in inducible defenses conducted from April to August 2021 (dataset 911221)
Morphological data from reciprocal transplant experiment in the field (this dataset)

See Related Datasets section below for links and additional details.

Related Datasets

IsSupplementedBy

Dataset: Outplant Experiment

Related Publications

Results

Methods

Palmer, A.R. (1982). Growth in marine gastropods. A non-destructive technique for independently measuring shell and body weight. Malacologia 23: 63-74.

Methods

Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

44

7

Files

Related Datasets

Related Publications

Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

44

7

Files

Related Datasets

Related Publications

Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

Metadata

44

7

Files

Related Datasets

Related Publications

Dataset: Morphological data of Littorina obtusata populations from reciprocal transplant experiments in the Gulf of Maine conducted 20 years apart

Principal Investigator: Geoffrey C. Trussell (Northeastern University)

Student: James J. Corbett (Northeastern University)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Dana Stuart Gerlach (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Project: Local adaptation and the evolution of plasticity under predator invasion and warming seas: consequences for individuals, populations and communities (evolution of plasticity)

Abstract

Metadata

44

7

Files

Related Datasets

Related Publications