Adaptive shell color plasticity during the early ontogeny of an intertidal keystone snail

Abstract

We report a mechanism of crypsis present during the vulnerable early post-metamorphic ontogeny (≤20 mm peristomal length) of the muricid snail Concholepas concholepas, a rocky shore keystone predator characteristic of the southeastern Pacific coast. In the field, we found a significant occurrence (>95%) of specimens bearing patterns of shell coloration (dark or light colored) that matched the background coloration provided by patches of Concholepas' most abundant prey (mussels or barnacles respectively). The variation in shell color was positively associated with the color of the most common prey (r = 0.99). In laboratory experiments, shell coloration of C. concholepas depended on the prey-substrate used to induce metamorphosis and for the post-metamorphic rearing. The snail shell color matched the color of the prey offered during rearing. Laboratory manipulation experiments, switching the prey during rearing, showed a corresponding change in snail shell color along the outermost shell edge. As individuals grew and became increasingly indistinguishable from the surrounding background, cryptic individuals had higher survival (71%) than the non cryptic ones (4%) when they were reared in the presence of the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri. These results suggest that the evolution of shell color plasticity during the early ontogeny of C. concholepas, depends on the color of the more abundant of the consumed prey available in the natural habitat where settlement has taken place; this in turn has important consequences for their fitness and survivorship in the presence of visual predators.