Measuring ecological quality status in low-diversity Arctic intertidal foraminiferal assemblages using a diversity-based index.

EcoQS assessment of the marine intertidal zone based on its fauna is challenging because the assemblages have a low diversity and consist of stress tolerant species. The new approach we propose is to pool foraminiferal diversity (effective number of species exp(H')) across the whole intertidal zone including the salt marsh and tidal flat. In seven fjordheads studied in northern Fennoscandia, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations indicated low levels of pollution (EcoQS Excellent to Moderate).

Littorina snails and Microphallus trematodes: Diverse consequences of the trematode-induced metabolic shifts.

The intricate relationships between parasites and hosts encompass a wide range of levels, from molecular interactions to population dynamics. Parasites influence not only the physiological processes in the host organism, but also the entire ecosystem, affecting mortality of individuals, the number of offspring through parasitic castration, and matter and energy cycles. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern host-parasite relationships and their impact on host physiology and environment remains challenging.

First insights into the gut microbiomes and the diet of the snail ecotypes, a recently emerged marine evolutionary model.

Microbes can play a prominent role in the evolution of their hosts, facilitating adaptation to various environments and promoting ecological divergence. The Wave and Crab ecotypes of the intertidal snail is an evolutionary model of rapid and repeated adaptation to environmental gradients. While patterns of genomic divergence of the ecotypes along the shore gradients have been extensively studied, their microbiomes have been so far overlooked.

Divergence together with microbes: A comparative study of the associated microbiomes in the closely related Littorina species.

Any multicellular organism during its life is involved in relatively stable interactions with microorganisms. The organism and its microbiome make up a holobiont, possessing a unique set of characteristics and evolving as a whole system. This study aimed to evaluate the degree of the conservativeness of microbiomes associated with intertidal gastropods.

Linking ecology, morphology, and metabolism: Niche differentiation in sympatric populations of closely related species of the genus ().

Divergence of ecological niches in phylogenetically closely related species indicates the importance of ecology in speciation, especially for sympatric species are considered. Such ecological diversification provides an advantage of alleviating interspecies competition and promotes more efficient exploitation of environmental resources, thus being a basis for ecological speciation. We analyzed a group of closely related species from the subgenus (genus , Caenogastropoda) from the gravel-bouldery shores.