Resistance to dislodgement: habitat and size-specific differences in morphology and tenacity in an intertidal snail

Abstract

The authors quantified 1) shell size (defined as the maximum projected surface area, MPSA); 2) shell shape; 3) foot area; 4) maximum force to dislodge a snail in shear; and 5) tenacity (force per foot area required to dislodge) of the herbivorous Littorina obtusata. Wave-exposed snails were smaller (lower average MPSA), and were shorter and had larger foot area and greater dislodgement force than did protected snails of similar MPSA. The greater dislodgement force at the exposed site was due to larger foot area, not to greater tenacity. -from Authors