Fluctuating Helical Asymmetry and Morphology of Snails (Gastropoda) in Divergent Microhabitats at ‘Evolution Canyons I and II,’ Israel

摘要

BackgroundDevelopmental instability of shelled gastropods is measured as deviations from a perfect equiangular (logarithmic) spiral. We studied six species of gastropods at ‘Evolution Canyons I and II’ in Carmel and the Galilee Mountains, Israel, respectively. The xeric, south-facing, ‘African’ slopes and the mesic, north-facing, ‘European’ slopes have dramatically different microclimates and plant communities. Moreover, ‘Evolution Canyon II’ receives more rainfall than ‘Evolution Canyon I.’