BRC-BIO: phenotypic traits facilitate plasticity in a model marine gastropod

Ursinus College received a $501,393 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), effective August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2028. The award funds research characterizing how intertidal environmental variation influences the ecology, physiology, and behavior of marine invertebrates, utilizing the American slipper snail as a model organism. The project will experimentally test the physiological limits of slipper snails under conditions characteristic of their native range along the U.S. East Coast and identify physiological traits associated with their ecological success in highly variable environments. Research findings will inform management strategies for invasive slipper snail populations in the Pacific Northwest that threaten local fisheries.

In addition to advancing scientific knowledge, the award supports significant educational and workforce development products and services. The grant funds the incorporation of research into a new Marine Invertebrate Zoology course and course-related laboratory at Ursinus College, integration of scientific communication into a Marine Biology course through partnership with the college's two-dimensional art program, and twelve paid summer internships for undergraduate students. The three-year award also provides research opportunities for academic term students, delivering hands-on research training and scientific skill development opportunities that strengthen the institution's capacity to engage undergraduates in biological research.

Abstract

The intertidal zone where the ocean meets land is a highly variable habitat where organisms often experience rapidly changing conditions, from complete submersion in water to full air exposure over a matter of hours. Most organisms are unable to withstand such rapid changes in their environment whereas others thrive. Understanding what makes some organisms successful under these conditions provides clues to the physiology that allow an organism to withstand environmental extremes. Researchers will characterize how intertidal environmental variation influences the ecology, physiology, and behavior of marine invertebrates using the american slipper snail?an intertidal snail that resides along the US east coast?as a model. This project will experimentally test the physiological limits of slipper snails under various conditions characteristic of their native range. This project will identify physiological traits associated with ecological success of slipper snails in highly variable environments. The results can be applied to management of invasive populations of the snail in the pacific northwest, which threatens local fisheries. This project also provides research and scientific training opportunities for undergraduate students at ursinus college. The research will be incorporated into a new marine invertebrate zoology course and cure lab for students. Additionally, the project supports the integration of scientific communication into a marine biology course via partnership with a two-dimensional art course at the college. Finally, the project will support twelve paid summer internships for students and will provide research opportunities for academic term students over the three-year award. Organismal resilience to environmental variability is difficult to assess due to shifting population baselines. However, not all populations are equally impacted, thus identifying these differences across a species? Native range is critical for predicting future success. The climatic variability hypothesis suggests that organisms exposed to greater environmental variability will have a wider range of ecological tolerances, which may improve ecological success in habitats with more stable conditions. The objective of this project is to use american slipper snail (crepidula fornicata) populations to test the hypotheses that populations occurring in more variable intertidal environments show greater phenotypic plasticity and that plasticity of physiological traits is key to their ecological success in response to chronically changing environmental conditions. Aim 1 will characterize two distinct populations of the american slipper snail and corresponding environmental conditions at cape may, NJ and nahant, MA using field sampling and long-term monitoring to assess variability and degree of specialization by populations to those conditions. Aim 2 will evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic responses of the different populations of snails under environmental change using a series of mesocosm experiments and physiological assessments informed by the data gathered in aim 1. This work will identify the physiological traits that provide these intertidal organisms an advantage in variable conditions through integration of data across multiple ecologically relevant scales (i.e., molecular, physiological, and environmental). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.