Predator-Prey Interactions Between Crabs and Gastropods

This lecture examines how repair scars in gastropod shells can reveal crab predation across modern and fossil marine ecosystems. It connects experiments on ocean acidification and shell defenses with conservation paleobiology and interpretations of past ecosystems.

Syllabus

Intro
Exploring the past, present, and future of predator-prey interactions between crabs and their gastropod prey
Can we study predation through time!
Indirect Evidence: Repair Scars
Repair Scars: Advantages
Can we use repair scars to study predation through time?
Repair Scars: Challenges
Study System Cancer productus Red rock crab
Challenge #1: How does ocean acidification affect prey defenses?
Shell Growth
Shell Strength
Shell Structure Dissolution! Low pH
How do we interpret OA in the fossil record? • Change in size at which repair scars occur? • Look for asymmetrical effects on prey
How do we compare repair scars? Does A in # repairs
Size at Repair
A Success or #Attacks?
Latitudinal Repair Patterns?
Repairs through time?
Pleistocene More repairs
Implications for palaeontology?
Can we study predation through time?