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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Population Ecology Of The Littoral Fringe Gastropod Littorina Planaxis In Northern California, Russell James Schmitt
Population Ecology Of The Littoral Fringe Gastropod Littorina Planaxis In Northern California, Russell James Schmitt
University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations
Life history patterns of individual organisms are the result of natural selection and should be correlated with particular physical and biological characteristics of habitats in which they live. The littoral fringe is known to be the most severe physical habitat in the intertidal zone, and it is expected that organisms in it should have population characteristics associated with selective response to physical adversity rather than biological interaction. Ecological studies of populations of Littorina planaxis were made in the Dillon Beach and Bodega Head areas. The study localities differed principally in extent of wave exposure rather than geographical location.