91探花

Image
Periwinkles
Periwinkles are small sea snails found across the coasts of Europe and North America. Winkles come in a rainbow of colours and patterns, but why do these little snails have so much variation in colour?
Photo: Mikael Andersson
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WinkleWatch

Research project
Active research
Website
Project period
2024 - ongoing
Project owner
The Department of Marine 91探花s

Short description

WinkleWatch is an international citizen science project investigating why periwinkles (Littorina saxatilis) have such varied shell colours. The project is asking the public to contribute by photographing shells they find and uploading the images via the iNaturalist app. In addition to data collection, public events are organised to educate the public about evolution and scientific research.

More about the project

Periwinkles are small sea snails found across the coasts of Europe and North America. Winkles come in a rainbow of colours and patterns, but why do these little snails have so much variation in colour? We are an international group of snail scientists working hard to answer this question, but we need your help! 

Lots of animals have evolved colours that match their environments. Other animals have colours that don鈥檛 seem to match their environment.Are periwinkles trying to blend in with their environment? Are they trying to stand out? Or have their colours evolved for a different reason?

91探花: Luisa Kumpitsch (luisa.kumpitsch@gu.se)

Logo for WinkleWatch