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Förslag till Marina exjobb vår o sommar 2016 1: Live in a flume - local adaptation to extreme physical stress from wave action Where: Tjärnö Supervisor: Kerstin Johannesson [email protected] (The student will be part of the CeMEB project, www.cemeb.science.gu.se) Background: Periwinkle snails, Littorina saxatilis, live in the splash zone of rocky shores. Snails are under strong selection from waves, and, in particular, the snails living in rocky shores facing strong wave action have to resist very rapid water movements (2-3 metres per second or more). Problem: A basic question is: Do snails from shores with more wave action resist higher speeds of water flow than snails from snails with less wave action? This question is presumably trivial (although very few studies have been performed earlier), and will therefore be expanded to include more detailed questions of how snails adapt. Is this only by means of natural selection, or can snails be trained to resist more wave action? How much is the resistance a matter of physical strength, foot area, and behaviour of the snail? How long time can snails resist high water speed before they become tired, and how does this differ between snails exercised in high water flow and those not exercised? Depending on the length of the study, it may also be possible to include a part in which gene expression are measured in relaxed and wave stressed snails to identify what genes are key actors in the physiology of resistance to wave stress. Method: A special high-speed flow tank is already available, built specifically for testing snails and other smaller organisms in strong water flows. The tank can be equipped with a laser beam to measure speed of water. Level: Master level (45-60 hec) 2: Phenotypic and genetic variation in the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus over small spatial gradients of wave exposure. Subdiscipline: Marine Evolutionary Ecology Where: Tjärnö Supervisor: Kerstin Johannesson & Rick Pereyra (The student will be part of the CeMEB project, www.cemeb.science.gu.se) [email protected] Background: The common brown algae Fucus vesiculosus (bladder wrack) is phenotypically variable with a more slender and less often vesiculated thallus in wave exposed areas, as compared to protected areas. This can be due to one or several of the following hypotheses; (1) phenotypic plasticity, (2) inherited differences accumulated in spite of strong gene flow between sites of different exposure, (3) inherited differences as a result of both isolation and differential selection. Problem: To assess the importance of the three possible explanations outlined above requires a combined approach assessing both gene flow and the level of inheritance of trait differences. Gene flow will be assessed using so called microsatellite genetic markers (which are available for this species). Plasticity versus inheritance is best evaluated using a common garden approach, in which newly settled algae from different environments are brought into the lab and raised in a common environment. The phenotypes being analysed using morphometric approaches and possibly also resistance to water speed can be measured using a high-speed flow tank. Level: Master level (45-60 hec) 3: Benthic habitats and associated fish-fauna in Kosterhavet National park Contact: [email protected] Kosterhavet national park was opened in 2009 in order to protect its unique marine fauna and flora (see link). The park is managed by the County administrative boad of Västra Götaland according to an existing management plan but continuous collaboration with the research community is aimed at developing better monitoring and protection of biodiversity. As an example of this, an extensive survey of the distribution and composition of bottom-dwelling fish and benthic habitats is currently being performed in the park. Using standardised sampling methods for fish and video-recordings of benthic habitats in 200-300 localities (at 130 m), we have access to data for quanitifying, modelling and mapping both fish and benthos in this unique area. We invite one or preferrably two students to develop projects in quantitative analyses of biodiversity of fish and benthic organisms (e.g. estimation of structural biodiversity and spatial distribution of fish and benthos, analyses of interactions between fish-‐ and benthic assemblages, etc.). The project will be done in collaboration between the Department of Marine Sciences, the Department of Aquatic resources at the Swedish Agricultural University and responsible and the national park (see www.prehab.gu.se for examples of earlier collaborations and methodological toolbox). The data and conlusions will be shared and communicated through existing channels to responsible authorities for the benefit of future management. The detailed final project plan will be decided based on the potential students’ background and interests. It is mainly suitable for 30-‐60 ECT projects but shorter projects can be discussed if this is not possible. 4: Bivalve adaptation potential to ocean acidification and selection of resilient strains Master or Bachelor student project Place: Kristineberg Time frame: May-July 2016 Contacts: Sam Dupont ([email protected]) Alexander Ventura ([email protected]) Background The purpose of the project is to understand if and how bivalves of high commercial value in Europe (e. g. blue mussels and oysters) may adapt to environmental change. The focus is on bivalves’ evolutionary responses to ocean acidification, which is an increase in ocean acidity linked to human-induced rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The effects ocean acidification has on sea water chemistry may negatively impact organisms with calcium carbonate shells. However all species are able to adapt to changes in their environment through evolution based on natural selection. The problem may arise if changes in environmental parameters are too abrupt as this may not allow a species to adapt in time. The possibility of artificially selecting ocean acidification resilient bivalve strains will also be explored. This will be attempted by picking out those individuals in a population that better withstand low pH conditions in the lab. M.Sc/B.Sc student involvement Next summer a cross-breeding experiment will be conducted to investigate heritability of selected traits in mussel larvae in the face of ocean acidification which will shed some light on the adaptation potential of these organisms. Gametes will be collected from several male and female mussels and eggs will be fertilized in all possible combinations to generate several larval lines through which heritability of traits such as growth and calcification will be determined using quantitative genetic techniques. The experiment would suit both a Masters and a Bachelor project. The work will include: monitoring mussel larval cultures and measuring several physiological parameters daily, culturing of microalgae (as food for the larvae) and measuring water chemistry parameters. 5: Miljöeffekter av utsläpp från konstgräsplaner: hur påverkas fiskar av partiklarna som hamnar i våra vattendrag? Fotbollsplaner med konstgräs blir vanligare allt eftersom naturligt gräs ersätts med dessa produkter, som är gjorda av nyproducerad och återvunnen gummi. Studier har visat att konstgräs släpper ifrån sig en del farliga kemikalier som tex PAHer och metaller. Kemikalierna är kända mutagener och cancerogena ämnen. Vi vet inte exakt vilka mängder gummi som hamnar i miljön och en del av projektet gäller undersökningar av dagvatten samt dess utlopp i Göteborgs hamn. Vi vill också använda gummipartiklarna i toxicitets tester för att mäta effekter av dessa på magtarmkanelens fysiologi och barriäregenskaper hos fisk. Studenten kommer att få möjlighet att arbeta delvis med fältprovtagningar samt laborativt. Projektet är baserat på fysiologiska samt ekotoxikologiska frågeställningar. Projektet bäst lämpad för masters nivå. Kan göras vilken tid på året som helst. Plats: Zoologen i Göteborg. Kontakta [email protected] eller [email protected] 6: Predictive biogeography – studying the invasive potential of marine alien species Contact to: Mattias Obst. [email protected] Project description: Biological invasions have dramatically increased in coastal environments over the past decades, causing homogenization of communities and contributing to global decline of biodiversity. Statistical correlation approaches such as species distribution modelling (SDM) are invaluable methods to predict the impact of potentially invasive species and allow preventive measures to be put in place before alien organisms establish breeding populations. The Department of Marine Sciences offers research opportunities to interested students who want to analyse such invasive patterns in the North East Atlantic, or other regions of the world. The work will imply some activity in the field of citizen science, collection of taxonomic, ecological, and environmental information, as well as species distribution modelling under present and future climate scenarios for a number of marine alien species. The student will analyse the data to better understand the invasive potential of the aliens and anticipate the impacts from anthropogenic activities. Examples for possible target groups are harmful algal blooms, aquaculture pests, disease carriers, or any other ecological key species. Methods will come from the fields of taxonomy, biogeography, species distribution modelling, and statistics. An example for inspiration is here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15002350 Level: BSc, MSc Qualities: The students has to speak fluent english. Period: Spring 2016 Where: The student will be located at the Zoologen building and/or one of the Marine stations. The project supervisors will be Matthias Obst, for more information see http://marine.gu.se/english/about-us/staff?languageId=100001&userId=xobsma Norwegian*Sea* *Atlan/c* 10#8%psu% 7: DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGY FOR STUDIES OF INTRACELLULAR PROCESSES IN MARINE ORGANISMS WITH CONFOCAL RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY Contact: Katarina Abrahamsson, [email protected] Alexandra Walsh, [email protected] Where: Campus Johanneberg, Gothenburg BACKGROUND There is a need to advance methodology to decode how changes in environmental factors and industrial processes influence ecosystems and human health, i.e. increase our understanding of cellular processes from molecules to organisms to ecosystems. Environmental factors alter molecules, cells and physiological processes inside organisms. Therefore, one major challenge is to develop an increased understanding of the different responses to environmental changes at many biological levels including molecules, cells, cellular communities, tissues and organisms. Raman spectroscopy, especially in its combination with microscopy, is a tool for advanced studies on a molecular level in environmental research. It has unique features, including little or no sample preparation, non-destructive, etc. Raman spectroscopy is unique in the sense that it is possible to perform detailed studies of cells in their natural state without perturbations of e.g. dyes, mechanical sectioning or other preparation procedures. AIM The aim of this master thesis project is to optimize the introduction of gold or silver colloids in algae cells. The colloids are necessary to achieve singal enhancement of individual molecules. You will specifically study the enzymatic formation of ozone depleting compounds such as bromoform. METHODOLOGY The instrumentation used is our confocal Raman spectrometer equipped with three laser lines. The reults will be evaluated with multivariate statistics such principal component analysis. [email protected] tel: 7869051 a b c 031 8: Crustaceans in a changing environment Contact: Susanne Eriksson [email protected] Climate change has led to a significant change in a number of abiotic factors, such as, temperature, ocean acidification, oxygen saturation and salinity. Invertebrate early life stages are generally considered most vulnerable to these changes, but only few studies have concerned brooding species such as the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus and the European lobster Homarus gammarus. During early life history the lobsters undergoes several habitat shifts, and thus encounter a range of ambient conditions. The lobsters response to the intensified abiotic stressors due to future climate change will have a large economic as well as biological impact. At Kristineberg we are currently running several projects associated with the early life stages of these two large decapod lobsters. Most of the work is focusing on laboratory studies on ecophysiological and health effects of multiple stressors on early life stages. Individual projects can be suited for most seasons and can range from 15 to 60 ECT. The experimental part of the project will be conducted at the research station Sven Loven Centre – Kristineberg. Analysis and writing can be done both at the station and in Gothenburg, whatever is most convenient. Juvenile European lobster and Norway lobster in the laboratory. 8: Age structure analysis of the invasive Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas)the way forward to determine establishment year, growth rates and population structures? Åsa Strand, [email protected], The invasive Pacific oyster emerged in large numbers in Sweden in 2006, which is often considered to be the original establishment year of the species. However, already at that time, adult oysters were observed at one site during surveys. Age analysis of these individuals may thus provide additional information to the establishment event. Moreover, as the growth rate of Pacific oysters is often measured as length of the individuals, and as shell appearance is highly variable and is affected by both substrate conditions and oyster densities, evaluation of growth rates and demographic patterns is hard to achieve using length frequency analysis only. However, by combining age and length of individuals at a site specific a “key” can be developed to facilitate demographic analysis. Determining the age of oysters is very difficult by just looking at the shell, thus other methods must be used. Acetate-peels of shell sections has previously been used as a successful technique to determine age of oysters. However, the method is quite labor intensive. As an alternative, photo luminescence may be used to develop age-length relationships. The purpose of this project is thus to; a) evaluate different techniques to perform age analysis of Pacific oysters b) use the most appropriate technique to evaluate questions relating to the establishment and population development of the invasive Pacific oyster in Sweden. Both the practical work and the field work connected to this project will be performed at the department of Marine Sciences at Tjärnö. The project can be adjusted to a 15 hp applied project, 30 hp bachelors thesis or 60 hp masters thesis. For more information, please contact Åsa Strand, [email protected], tel. +(46) 31 786 96 34. 9: Evaluating the enemy-release hypothesis as a potential cause of the successful establishment of the invasive Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in Sweden Åsa Strand, [email protected], The accelerating spread of non-native species is currently one of the most serious environmental threats worldwide and constitutes one of the biggest pressures on local biodiversity and endemic species. As a species arrive in a new area, both attributes of the invaded environment (abiotic conditions and native community structure) and characteristics of the invader, will determine the success of the establishment. If abiotic conditions in the new environment are within the non-native species tolerance limits and can support successful reproduction, biotic factors will act to determine the success or failure of the invasion. One of the theories explaining the success rate of establishment of invasive species is the enemyrelease hypothesis. The theory claims that non-native species will experience less regulation by enemies (predators, parasites and pathogens) at a new site than native species, thus allowing them to increase in abundance and distribution and become invasive. So far we have established that the Pacific oyster constitute a resource for two native predators, the shore crab Carcinus maenas, and the starfish Asterias rubens, and we have estimated consumption rates of oysters by these predators. However, in order to evaluate the effects of these predators on wild populations, we also need to know the prevalence of the predators in bivalve areas. The aim of this project is therefore to quantify the number, and size structure, of crabs and starfish in oyster and blue mussel banks and to use this information to evaluate the potential restrictions predation may impose on population development of the Pacific oyster. The practical work will be based on field studies performed in the area of Tjärnö, preferably during summer 2016. The field data will be combined with previously obtained data on consumption rates from lab studies, which, if time allows, may also be complemented with additional predator sizes during the project. The project can be adjusted to a 15 hp applied project, 30 hp bachelors thesis or 60 hp masters thesis. For more information, please contact Åsa Strand, [email protected], tel. +(46) 31 786 96 34. 10: Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics at the Swedish West Coast Where: Gothenburg and at sea Supervisors: Anna Godhe (GU) and Bengt Karlson (SMHI) [email protected] and [email protected] (The student will be contribute to the JERICO NEXT project, http://jerico-fp7.eu/) Background: Phytoplankton from the genus Dinophysis (Dinophyta) produce diarrhetic shellfish toxins that may accumulate in shellfish. Diarrhetic shellfish toxins are a major concern for the mussel farming industry along the Sweish West coast. Dinophysis occur in the open sea and in fjord systems. Dinophysis are often found in thin layers, at or near the pycnocline. Dinophysis are mixotrophic feeding on other plankton. Dinophysis are also good swimmers. Problem: The basic question is: Are the Dinophysis off shore transported to the coast causing shellfish toxicity. Detailed questions are: How are Dinophysis distributed in the water mass? What conditions favour transport of Dinophysis to the coast? What are the effects of growth rate, feeding and swimming? The master thesis project will be part of a larger project investigating the physical and biological oceanography of harmful algal blooms. A cooperation with another master student focussing on the physical oceanographic aspects of the problem is suggested. Method: The work will include participation in oceanographic cruises on the Göteborg university new research vessel during an eight week period starting in mid August 2016. Sampling will also be carried out near a mussel farm at Tångesund (near Mollösund). Water samples will be concentrated and the abundance of Dinophysis and their prey will be estimated using microscopy and by automated analysis using Imaging Flow Cytometry. In situ cell division rates will be estimated using the frequency of dividing cells method. Behaviour will be studied in live samples. Level: Master level (45-60 hec) 11: Exchange processes in the Stigfjord/Tångesund area. Where: Gothenburg and at sea Supervisors: Lars Arneborg (GU) and Kari Eilola (SMHI) [email protected], [email protected] Background: Toxins produced during the bloom of certain phytoplankton (Dinophysis) are a concern for mussel farms along the Swedish west coast. These may bloom offshore and in fjord environments. In order to predict whether a bloom will pass a mussel farm, one needs to know under which circumstances different water masses flow past the farms. Water exchanges in the fjords and archipelagos along the Swedish west coast are caused by sea level fluctuations, density fluctuations, winds, etc. Some of these processes are parameterized in a model system called the Swedish Coastal zone Model (SCM) that is used for water quality calculations in the coastal zone waters around Sweden. Problem: What is the origin and transport time of the water masses that are advected past the mussels in the mussel farm at Tångesund on Orust, and how does that change with different conditions? What are the main processes driving the water exchanges and determining the physical properties of the water masses? Are these water exchanges properly described in existing coastal zone models and parameterizations? Are the offshore conditions sufficiently well described in such models to predict the origin of water passing Tångesund? A cooperation with another master student focussing on the biological aspects of the problem is suggested. Methods: The work will include literature studies, collection of in-situ data and analysis of observations and model data. This includes setting up and deploying oceanographic moorings and participation in a number of oceanographic cruises on the Göteborg university new research vessel during an eight week period starting in mid August 2016. The moorings will be deployed during the entire study period to record variations in stratification and water levels inside and outside Stigfjorden and currents will be recorded near the mussel farm. Results from the SCM will be available for analysis and comparison with the observations. If time allows there is a possibility to visit SMHI to perform sensitivity tests with the SCM using e.g. different forcings and parameterizations. Level: Master level (45-60 hp) 12: How does marine benthic fauna respond to adding of activated carbon to the sediment surface? A laboratory experiment MSc thesis project, 2015-‐2016 1-‐2 students Capping with thin layers of activated carbon is a new and promising technique to reduce bioavailability of pollutants from marine sediments. This remediation technique has become more commonly used worldwide in the past years. However, the benthic community’s response to activated carbon is still poorly understood. Results from previous research are in many ways contradictory. The intention of this experiment is to give us a better understanding of underlying causes to the negative responses on the fauna that we have observed in a large scale capping project in two Norwegian fjords. The experiment will be performed with a setup of sediment mesocosms including intact fauna communities. The aim is to study the effect of activated carbon on various species, especially in relation to their feeding strategy and bioturbation activity. The results will increase our understanding and how to interpret our results in the ongoing field project, which started in Norway 2009. For example, we have observed a severe decline in abundance of the brittle star Amphiura filiformis in the test-‐fields capped with active carbon. A crucial question to answer is therefore if the treatment is direct lethal to the brittle stars, or if they have the ability to escape the area when conditions become unfavorable? The experiment is suitable for 1-‐2 master students. The thesis will for example be a god background for future work in environmental management. The thesis will also be a good training in species analysis and give an understanding of several ecological functions in marine sediment habitats. Since activated carbon is a new remediation technique, the results of the experiment will be published in a scientific article, where you as a master student can choose to take part. The participants also have the opportunity to take part in the follow up work in the ongoing field project in Norway. The experimental setup will be located at Sven Lovén center Kristineberg, Gothenburg University. It is a jointly project between Stockholm and Gothenburg universities. For further information, please contact: Caroline Raymond: [email protected], 0736-‐949463 (Stockholm University) Stefan Agrenius: [email protected], 031-‐786 95 24 (Gothenburg University) 13: Big appetite or good food – why some snails are much bigger than the other? Where: Tjärnö When: Start March or June 2016 Supervisors: Marina Panova ([email protected]), Sarah Bourlat ([email protected]) Background: Rocky shore snail Littorina saxatilis has an extreme capacity to adapt to local environment and is a very good model to study evolutionary biology. In Sweden, there are two morphologically different ecotypes: Crab-ecotype that lives on the boulder shores and evolved to resist carb predation, and Wave-ecotype that lives on exposed cliffs and evolved to resist wave exposure (see Figure). The most striking phenotypic difference between these ecotypes is size; the Crabecotype grows much faster than the Wave-ecotype. To do this, they would need to obtain more energy from food. Figure. Crab and Wave ecotypes of Littorina saxatilis at Saltö island close to Tjärnö laboratory. Problem: How do Crab-ecotype snails get enough energy for their fast growth? Do they spend more time feeding than the Waveecotype? Or may be they have much better food in their environment? The goal of this project is to investigate these alternative hypotheses. This information will be very important for our studies of Littorina evolution and our search of genes that “make” ecotypes. In addition, this project will give some insight on what limit food consuming in snails – food availability or their appetite. In insects for example it is known that there are receptors and hormones that regulate feeding behaviour, but no one looked in snails. Methods: There are three different approaches in this project: 1) A laboratory experiment to estimate feeding time/food consumption by quantifying snails’ grazing tracks in aquaria. 2) Analysis of food composition in two different habitats by sequencing. Take samples from the rock and cliff surfaces, extract DNA, sequence and identify what species of microalga, bacteria etc. are present and at what abundance level. 3) Analyses of food composition eaten by snails by sequencing. Take samples of snails gut content and faeces, extract DNA, sequence and identify what species of microalga, bacteria etc. are present and at what abundance level. Level: Master level (45-60 hec; preferably 60 hec to apply all 3 approaches). 14: Effect of climate change on the behaviour of the shrimp Pandalus borealis (30 hec) The northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is an important commercial fishery species in Scandinavia. How this species responds to climate change may therefore have a large impact on these countries economically in addition to the ecological consequence. There is a larger project running on this species examining the potential tolerance, and interpopulation variation of tolerance, of this shrimp to ocean acidification and warming (OWA). The main project will work on physiological changes and the genetic basis for these changes. As an extension of this project a 30 hec. masters project is available to investigate if and how OWA impacts upon shrimp behaviour, specifically feeding and predator avoidance. The project will be based at Kristineberg Marine Station to begin in April 2016. Please note that due to the seasonality of the practical experimental work this project will require working over the summer, with holiday to be taken later instead. Contact: Dr Hannah Wood, Email: [email protected] 15: Effect of climate change on the energy budget of the shrimp Pandalus borealis (60 hec) The northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is an important commercial fishery species in Scandinavia. How this species responds to climate change may therefore have a large impact on these countries economically in addition to the ecological consequence. There is a larger project running on this species examining the potential tolerance, and interpopulation variation of tolerance, of this shrimp to ocean acidification and warming (OWA). The main project will work on physiological changes and the genetic basis for these changes. As an extension of this project a 60 hec. masters project is available to investigate the energy budget of the shrimp, and how this is affected by temperature and ocean acidification. The project will be based at Kristineberg Marine Station to begin in April 2016. Please note that due to the seasonality of the practical experimental work this project will require working over the summer, with holiday to be taken later instead. Contact: Dr Hannah Wood, Email: [email protected] 16: Effect of climate change on the shrimp Pandalus borealis (XX hec) The northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is an important commercial fishery species in Scandinavia. How this species responds to climate change may therefore have a large impact on these countries economically in addition to the ecological consequence. There is a larger project running on this species examining the potential tolerance, and interpopulation variation of tolerance, of this shrimp to ocean acidification and warming (OWA). The main project will work on physiological changes and the genetic basis for these changes. As an extension of this project there is potential for complimentary masters projects to run alongside the main project. If you are interested in working in this area and have your own project idea, please contact me via mail to discuss this. The project will be based at Kristineberg Marine Station to begin in April 2016. Please note that due to the seasonality of the practical experimental work this project will require working over the summer, with holiday to be taken later instead. Contact: Dr Hannah Wood, Email: [email protected] 17: Local adaptations in crab larvae to fish predation and dispersal in a microtidal environment Where: Kristineberg Marine Research Station, Fiskebäckskil, Gullmarsfjord Supervisors: Per Moksnes and Per Jonsson. [email protected], [email protected] 3 Background: The suggested master project will explore a novel hypothesis about mechanisms explaining from the Channel to (Moksnes…Jonsson 2014, Fig. 1).tIn areas by the oceanographic patterns of English local adaptations in Kattegat marine invertebrates with planktonic larvae ransported where tides significant, shore crab larvae display inherited endogenous circulation. The are core hypothesis is related to ‘isolation by an adaptation’ and proposes that many coastal species vertical migration rhythm, which twhen synchronized withfor local tides is believed to the probability of with planktonic larvae are exposed o very strong selection larval traits that increase facilitate cross-shelf and recruitment success (Zeng and Naylor 1996, surviving the planktonic transport stage and returning to coastal habitats suitable for recruitment. Recent studies show Moksnes…Jonsson 2014).their Our vmodels oceanographic water transport predictdepth-‐dependent that that many larvae can control ertical pofosition in the water column and exploit this rhythmic vertical migration increases local retentionand of free-drifting larvae and variations in water transport to modify their n et dispersal the probability of successful recruitment. leads tolittle higher terms oftrade-‐offs recruitment in shallow habitatsdclose to the However, is kfitness nown ain bout how are success made between optimizing ispersal vs food availability and coastline. This endogenous tidal rhythm in larvae from areas where thea combination of predator avoidance in the plankton. In the pdisappears roposed project this w ill be assessed using tide is insignificant, wherebinstead larvae show aan with empirical field experiments, iophysical modeling nd exogenous analyses of circadian available prhythm lankton data. The student will be part of a larger research group during assessing hese questions also with molecular tools. of migration to deeper waters the tday possibly reducing predation. Modeling dispersal also suggests that observed larval behavior results in restricted gene flow Research Question: Earlier studies have shown that shore crab larvae (Carcinus maenas) from the Swedish west along the tidal gradient. This rare example of a putative local adaptation (larval coast do not display the inherited swimming behavior with a tidal rhythm displayed in larvae from tidal areas, behavior) in a species with potential for long-distance dispersal points to an intriguing but instead display a nocturnal vertical migration behavior. These results have lead to the yet untested interaction between natural selection of larval behavior and the potential for evolution hypotheses that Swedish larvae show a local adaptation to microtidal conditions where they migrate to the of local adaptations in coastal species with planktonic larvae. This environmental surface only at night to avoid visual fish predators, and use sea-‐breeze transport to return to shallow gradient also coincides with the deglaciation about 10000 BP indicating that the cline settlement habitats (Moksnes et al. 2014, Limnol Oceanogr, 59:588-‐602). The aim of the master-‐project is to in larval behavior is recent. assess these and alternative explanations to the observations. " Methods: The work will include literature studies, field experimentation, analysis of available field data and model data. description The field experiment include measuring predation on crab larvae in situ using novel planktonic Project tethering-‐techniques developed in tproject he research group here crab m are glued to drifting long-‐lines We here propose a research with the aimwto explore a egalopae novel hypothesis deployed a t d ifferent d epths t o a ssess r elative p redation r ates. T he a vailable f ield data consist of depth-‐specific about mechanisms explaining patterns of local adaptations in marine invertebrates plankton n et s amples o f d ecapod l arvae a nd h oloplankton t hat h ave b een i dentified to species and larval stage. with planktonic larvae transported by the oceanographic circulation. The core of the A hhypothesis igh-‐resolution, 3 -‐D o ceanographic c irculation m odel o f t he G ullmarsfjord a rea i s a lso available within the is related to ‘isolation by adaptation’ (e.g. Nosil et al. 2005) and proposes research g roup, i n w hich h ypotheses r egarding d ispersal a nd r etention o f l arvae w ith different swimming that many coastal species with planktonic larvae are exposed to very strong selection behaviors c an b e t ested. T he f ield w ork w ith s hore c rab l arvae h as t o b e c arried o ut i n July-‐September 2016 for larval traits that increase the probability of natal retention or returning to the when t he l arvae a re p resent i n t he f ield, b ut a nalyses o f a vailable p lankton a nd m odel d coastal boundary harboring shallow habitats suitable for recruitment and adult life. ata can be started earlier the spring, or carried out direct in the effect fall of that 2016. Suchin larval traits may have the realized dispersal distance is reduced, or the indirect effect that dispersing larvae are maladapted leading to low Level: Master or Bachelor level (30-‐60 hp) connectivity and gene flow between local populations, which promotes local adaptation also in the adult stage. Fig. 1. The difference in rhythmic larval behavior of the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) between (A) micro-tidal areas with no rhythm, (B) and in meso-tidal areas with an endogenous circatidal rhythm (from Moksnes…Jonsson 2014).