Endemism and invasion in the speciation and polymorphism of snails and slugs

Invasive snails and slugs are causing worldwide problems, both in terms of direct damage to crops, and as intermediate vectors for diseases of farm animals. Yet, snails and slugs are difficult to identify and we have little idea of what influences their speciation.
The aim of this project, therefore, will be to study the process of speciation in snails, using appropriate representative species from the UK one other target country. Specifically, if the ultimate aim is to understand how the external environment and genetics interact to shape adaptive variation, then the outward phenotype must be defined accurately. The student will develop methods to define and quantify the polymorphism in individuals and in populations at different spatial scales, taking into account the visual acuity of bird predators and the more general environment. Gaussian mixture modelling (Mclust in R) will be used to characterise the number of morphs objectively, and examine discriminability by birds and humans using "just noticeable differences". The output will then be used to inform subsequent objectives.
Although much of the work will be lab-based, with a concomitant bioinformatics element, field collection will be a necessary component, including probable foreign field work.