Defienden un nuevo trabajo de final del Máster de Ecología Marina en el COB

Defienden un nuevo trabajo de final del Máster de Ecología Marina en el Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares sobre los factores ambientales que inciden en la morfología de la especie protegida Pinna nobilis.

Montse Arenos, alumna del Máster de Ecología Marina de la UIB, presentó el pasado jueves 14 de febrero la memoria final en el salón de actos del Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares .

La alumna ha realizado el período de prácticas del máster de Ecología Marina de la Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) en las dependencias del Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares (cob) en virtud del Convenio firmado entre el Instituto Español de Oceanografía y la UIB de prácticas en empresas e instituciones para estudiantes de estudios oficiales de postgrado (másteres y doctorados). El trabajo de final del Máster fue dirigido por las doctoras e investigadoras del COB, Salud Deudero y Maite Vázquez-Luis y por José Rafael García-March del IMEDMAR. Formaron parte del tribunal del Máster, Dr. Gabriel Moyà y el Dr. Guillem Mateu de la UIB.

La memoria ha versado sobre el estudio de la relación entre el medio ambiente y la morfometría de la nacra (Pinna nobilis).

Resúmen del trabajo final del Máster:

Title: Influence of environmental factors on morphometric differences of Pinna nobilis shells deciphered by biometric analyses.

Abstract: Pinna nobilis is an endangered bivalve native of the Mediterranean Sea. P nobilis shell is commonly described as triangular with a pointed anterior end. This common morphology varies considerably within populations probably depending on local environmental factors. There are, however, no studies evaluating the relationship between the environment and shell morphology. In the present study we measured several dimensions of 151 P. nobilis shells to test the hypothesis that environmental factors such as depth, wave exposure and locality have an effect on P. nobilis shell morphology. Shell samples were taken around the Balearic Islands at several locations: Mallorca, Cabrera, Ibiza and Formentera. Influence of depth on shell morphology was tested by considering two depth categories: shallow waters (10 m depth) and deep waters (20 m depth). Regarding the exposure to wave action, shells were classified according to their habitat being exposed or sheltered. A third factor considered separated the shells among island and locality. We also tested the effects of these factors in shell morphology between young (less than 40 cm) and adults (over 40 cm) shells to check for possible differences in the influence of environmental factors with ontogeny. To see the grouping of the shells according to the anatomic features and environmental factors, we applied several PCA test with data normalization. A MANOVA test was used to check if there were similarities between factors. We observed a common form and graduation of forms depending on environmental factors and with regard to island and locality. We observed that the factor exposition has an effect in shell morphology, generating a new morphology (wide and with a clear bend at the posterior end of the ligament) in juvenile (less than 40 cm) shells and constraining the morphologies in adult shells. The new juvenile morphology is absent in unexposed sites whereas adult shell morphology is more variable in these sites. Furthermore, in view of our results, we hypothesize that the factor age can be determinant for shell grouping in future studies and use less biometric measures in future studies of P. nobilis.