Aspects of Littorinid Biology Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Littorinid Biology, held in Cork, Ireland, 7–13 September 1996

Members of the family Littorinidae are among the most widely studied gastropod molluscs and the more questions we answer about this group, the more questions are inevitably posed. Littorinid research spans diverse disciplines, from molecular biology, physiology, ecology, systematics and evolutionary biology to elegant anatomical studies. The papers n this volume reflect the current research being carried out on littorinids, and fall into three broad themes: systematics, ecology, and pollution studies.
This book is primarily targeted at the research level, while providing useful information for advanced first-degree students conducting research projects.

Genetic variability in Littorina saxatilis from different habitats on an island in Galway Bay.- Electrophoretic heterogeneity within and between flat periwinkles (Mollusca: Gastropoda) along an intertidal transect at Ria Ferrol, northwest Spain.- A preliminary study on genetic differentiation in Littorina saxatilis from Galway Bay, Ireland: Littorina tenebrosa Montagu — a valid species or ecotype?.- Lack of significant esterase and myoglobin differentiation in the periwinkle, Littorina striata (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia).- A comparison of different protocols for RAPD analysis of Littorina.- Radular myoglobin and protein variation within and among some littorinid species (Mollusca: Gastropoda).- Allozyme variation and behavioural dimorphism among populations of Littorina brevicula (Philippi) from Japan.- Sexual selection and assortative mating by size and their roles in the maintenance of a polymorphism in Swedish Littorina saxatilis populations.- Rough periwinkle polymorphism on the east coast of Yorkshire: comparison of RAPD-DNA data with morphotype.- Assortative mating between two distinct micro-allopatric populations of Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) on the northeast coast of England.- Natural selection on a vertical environmental gradient in Littorina saxatilis: analysis of fecundity.- Effects of habitat on growth and shape of contrasting phenotypes of Bembicium vittatum Philippi in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia.- Increasing precision in randomised field experiments: barnacle microtopography as a predictor of Littorina abundance.- Temporal variation in parasite loading in relation to life history patterns of Littorina obtusata and L. fabalis.- Gills and size in some small Littorina.- A hot summer, cold winters, and the geographical limit ofTrochocochlea lineata in Somerset.- Density and shell-size variation of Nodilittorina lineolata (Orbigny, 1840) in the intertidal region in southeastern Brazil.- Spawning periodicity of three species of Nodilittorina in Hong Kong.- What to do when there is nothing to do: the ecology of Jamaican intertidal Littorinidae (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) in repose.- Seasonal variation in soluble uric acid concentration in Littorina saxatilis (Olivi).- Intersex and Littorina littorea in Cork Harbour: results of a medium-term monitoring programme.- Imposex in Nucella lapillus and intersex in Littorina littorea: interspecific comparison of two TBT-induced effects and their geographical uniformity.- Toxico-kinetic and -dynamic aspects of TBT-induced imposex in Hydrobia ulvae compared with intersex in Littorina littorea (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia).- Ultrastructure of prostate gland tissue in males and females with intersex phenomena of Littorina littorea L..- Short Communications.- Diet in Littoraria.- A novel method to assess the cercariae emission intensity of littorinid populations.- Additional records of rough periwinkles in northwest Scotland.- Epilogue.