Positive interactions are known to play important roles in ecological divergence but have received less attention than negative interactions in studies on intertidal communities. Here, we show that growth of the mat‐forming green alga Pseudocladophora conchopheria on the shells of a intertidal gastropod (Lunella coreensis) provides them with benefits for living in intertidal rocky habitats. We found that P. conchopheria covered a large proportion of the shell surface in all L. coreensis inhabiting an exposed rocky shore habitat, but none or only a small proportion of the shell surface in L. coreensis inhabiting a damp boulder shore habitat. Thermal exposure experiment showed that L. coreensis originating from the boulder shore habitat had a higher mortality rate and temperatures inside the shell than those originating from the exposed rocky shore habitat. These differences disappeared when P. conchopheria was removed from the shell or was dried out, indicating that an increased coverage and dampness of the alga suppressed the increase in temperature inside the shell. These support the hypothesis that the growth of P. conchopheria on L. coreensis shells suppresses thermal stress in the hosts; the benefits of P. conchopheria may enable the hosts to exploit habitats where considerable thermal stress is present during air exposure.

In this study, we clarify the classification of museum specimens of the family Viviparidae, which is composed of six species/subspecies in Japan, including three endangered species. We examined Viviparus sclateri specimens from the Tomotaro Iwakawa collection (1855-1933) in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. The Iwakawa's collection was catalogued in 1919 and Viviparus sclateri, labelled with Naga-tanishi, the current Japanese name for H. longispira, which was, at the time, equivalent to Viviparus sclateri, was listed in this catalogue. The catalogue noted localities of Viviparus sclateri (Naga-tanishi) from outside Lake Biwa, including occurrences in Lake Kasumigaura and Lake Suwa. However, Heterogen longispira (Naga-tanishi) is currently considered to be endemic to Lake Biwa drainage. The actual status of Viviparus sclateri in Iwakawa (1919) has not been clarified until now. Our examination revealed that Viviparus sclateri from Iwakawa’s catalogue included H. japonica, H. longispira and Sinotaia quadrata histrica, based on current taxonomy. Specimens assigned to H. longispira occurred only in Lake Biwa drainage. Heterogen japonica was confirmed to be present in all lots and some H. japonica from Lake Suwa had a distinctive morphology. Sinotaia quadrata histrica was only confirmed to occur in Lake Suwa. Furthermore, some specimens from southern Lake Biwa and the Seta River had intermediate characteristics between H. japonica and H. longispira and their populations are currently almost extinct.

Reliable identification of species is important for protecting native ecosystems against the invasion of non-native species. DNA barcoding using molecular markers, such as the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, helps researchers distinguish species. In this study, we focused on introduced veronicellid slugs in the Ryukyu Islands and some greenhouses on mainland Japan. Some veronicellids are medium-to-high risk pest species for humans. Identifying veronicellid species by their external morphology is difficult and unreliable because there is substantial overlap between intraspecific variation and interspecific differentiation. Therefore, internal morphologies such as male genitalia have been the primary traits used to distinguish veronicellids. To identify introduced veronicellid slugs in Japan to the species level, we used morphological assessment of male genitalia and DNA barcoding of the standard COI gene fragment. We also conducted species-delimitation analyses based on the genetic data. The results showed that five evolutionarily significant units, corresponding to four nominal species inhabit the Ryukyu Islands, of which two species were also found in the greenhouses of mainland Japan, including the first record of Sarasinula plebeia in Japan. The presence of non-native slug species could increase the transmission of parasites in Japan.

Freshwater mollusks often show high intraspecific variability in shell morphology, which may cause incongruences between molecular phylogeny and morphology-based species taxonomy. However, it remains unclear how morphological variations in freshwater snails are associated with different habitats such as rivers, ponds, and lakes. In the present study, we investigated the morphological variation in the shells of the viviparid freshwater snail Sinotaia quadrata in the Kahoku Lagoon in Japan, which was converted from a brackish to a freshwater lagoon 60 years ago. This newly established freshwater habitat is particularly well-suited for studies on how morphology is associated with environments. We found clear differences in shell morphologies between the S. quadrata populations sampled inside and outside of the lagoon. The S. quadrata sampled in the lagoon had thicker and more elongated shells with wider apertures than those sampled outside of the lagoon. No relationship was found between shell morphology and the distance between sampling sites. This suggests that the divergence in shell morphology occurred over a fairly short time period by rapid adaptation or phenotypic plasticity. Although it is unclear whether these differences are caused by phenotypic plasticity or adaptation, the present findings suggest that the shell morphologies of freshwater snails easily change under the influence of the environment. The high flexibility in shell morphology should be carefully considered when managing or studying freshwater mollusks.

Environmental factors promote symbiosis, but its mechanism is not yet well understood. The alga Pseudocladophora conchopheria grows only on the shell of an intertidal gastropod Lunella correensis, and these species have a close symbiotic relationship which the alga reduces heat stress of the gastropod. In collaboration with general public, we investigated how environmental conditions alter the symbiotic interaction between the alga and the gastropod. Information about the habitats of each gastropod and images of shells was obtained from the Japanese and Korean coasts via social media. We constructed the hierarchical Bayesian model using the data. The results indicated that the proportion of shell area covered by P. conchopheria increased as the substrate size utilized by the gastropod increased. Meanwhile, temperature did not affect the proportion of P. conchopheria on the shell. These suggested that the alga provides no benefits for the gastropod on small substrates because gastropod can reduce the heat stress by diving into the small sediment. Further, the gastropod’s cost incurred by growing the alga on the shell seems to be low as the algae can grow even in cooler places where no benefits of heat resistance for gastropods. Different environments can yield variable conditions in symbiosis.