Hydrobia and Ockham's razor: a reply to A.J. Cherrill
Fenchel, T. (1988). Hydrobia and Ockham's razor: a reply to A.J. Cherrill. Oikos (Kbh.) 51(1): 113-114
In: Oikos (København). Munksgaard: Copenhagen. ISSN 0030-1299; e-ISSN 1600-0706, more
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| Keywords |
Interspecific relationships > Competition
Interspecific relationships > Predation
Population characteristics > Population structure > Size distribution
Hydrobia W. Hartmann, 1821 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract |
The author was pleased to learn that Hydrobia is considered a "classic" case of character displacement (Cherrill 1988). In his mind, the classic example is really the Galapagos finches. Darwin first saw what must have happened, Lack (1947) inferred that the process is still going on, and finally the heritability and functional significance of the involved traits has been demonstrated and the selection forces estimated by Grant (1981, 1983, 1986). Cherrill (1988) raises a number of objections to the author's interpretation of the size distribution of Hydrobia species in different populations and to the experimental data which support this interpretation (Fenchel 1975a, b, Fenchel and Kofoed 1976). The objections are mainly based on the observation of complexities in the biology of these snails of which he was not aware or did not take into account. |
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