Foraging behaviour of Patella vulgata L. in an Irish sea-lough

Little, Colin; Williams, Gray A.; Morritt, David; Perrins, James; Stirling, Penny

doi:10.1016/0022-0981(88)90215-8

Cited by 44 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These indirect studies have led to the conclusion that P. vulgata is a keystone species in the intertidal, preventing macroalgal growth through microphagous grazing of epilithic biofilm and associated macroalgal propagules (spores and germlings) (Hill & Hawkins 1991, Jenkins & Hartnoll 2001, Jenkins et al 2005, Coleman et al 2006, Jonsson et al 2006, Moore et al 2007). This view is supported by observational studies of limpet foraging behaviour (Hartnoll & Wright 1977, Little et al 1988, Della Santina et al 1994) and several studies which directly examined limpet gut contents (Hawkins et al 1989, Little et al 1990, Hill & Hawkins 1991.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Macroalgae contribute to the diet of Patella vulgata from contrasting conditions of latitude and wave exposure in the UK

Notman

McGill²,

Hawkins³

et al. 2016

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Macroalgae contribute to the diet of Patella vulgata from contrasting conditions of latitude and wave exposure in the UK

Notman

McGill²,

Hawkins³

et al. 2016

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…upper left) when viewed in the perpendicular plane. To do this at night, a red filtered light was used, which did not appear to disturb the nerites (see Little et al 1988). Preliminary observations showed that Nerita yoldii are inactive and do not move when they are submerged during high tide.…”

Section: Observations Of Foraging Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such behaviour can also vary spatially with different site locations (Hartnoll & Wright 1977), habitats (Hawkins & Hartnoll 1982) and tidal levels (Williams & Morritt 1991). These differences are prob ably due to local variation in environmental factors, which can be causal in driving foraging behaviour or inhibiting activity when conditions are unfavourable (Little et al 1988, Williams & Little 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale temporal and spatial variability in foraging behaviour of the mid-shore gastropod Nerita yoldii on seasonal, tropical, rocky shores

Yeung¹,

Williams

2012

Aquat. Biol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Describing temporal variation in the foraging behaviour of intertidal gastropods is important to gain an understanding of the environmental conditions that constrain their activity patterns. Foraging behaviour in the tropical gastropod Nerita yoldi was mainly determined by the tidal cycle: individuals foraged when they were awash, or emersed when the rock was wet, migrating downshore to forage and upshore when they returned to refuges. Apart from tidal influences, foraging in N. yoldii also varied with season and tidal state. Individuals were generally more active in summer than in winter and on neap than spring tides; although small-scale daily variation existed. Such temporal variation may be caused by several interacting environmental variables, especially air temperature, pressure and irradiance, which influence physical conditions as well as individuals' metabolism. Individual foraging patterns were also highly labile between seasons: most individuals would stop and remain stationary on the open rock surface in winter, but returned to refuges after foraging in summer, a pattern probably driven by physical stress. The foraging behaviour of N. yoldii, therefore, is predictable on a coarse scale, in terms of when they are active, but highly labile in duration and foraging range, which indicates the importance of local, daily variation in environmental factors controlling foraging on shores that have strong temporal changes in abiotic conditions. KEY WORDS: Nerita · Foraging behaviour · Tropical shoreResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Aquat Biol 16: 177-188, 2012 Such lability in foraging behaviour represents important adaptive traits in organisms (Mery & Burns 2010). Climatic seasonality, for example, is a large time-scale temporal pattern that affects foraging behaviour owing to changes in physical stress, predation pressure and food availability as well as associated changes in tidal and diurnal conditions. As a result, such variation in foraging behaviour can make it difficult to define precise behavioural patterns of a species (Chapman & Underwood 1992a, Ng & Williams 2006, Santini et al. 2011.The gastropod genus Nerita Linnaeus 1758 (Neritacea) has a high abundance and diversity in tropical regions (Vermeij 1973). Most species, such as N. textilis (Chelazzi et al. 1983) and N. polita (Chelazzi 1982) are zonal shuttlers (Chelazzi et al. 1988), which forage from a refuge either up-or downshore during each tidal cycle before returning to their resting level (Chelazzi et al. 1988). Previous observations on the behaviour of Nerita have not, however, investigated longer-term variations in foraging patterns, such as monthly or seasonal variation, al though a longerterm study of N. plicata, N. textilis and N. undata in Kenya showed these species to be more active on spring than neap tides (Ruwa & Jaccarini 1988).Nerita are important herbivores in the Hong Kong rocky intertidal zone (Hill 1980). In contrast to other tropical localities where the foraging beh...

show abstract

“…The reduction in 'activity' at high water has also been noted in C. toreuma (Hirano 1979) and may represent more intense feeding such as exhibited by Patella vulgata in SW Ireland (Little et al 1988 Williams 1991) and in N Wales, UK (Chelazzi et al 1994). movement upshore has been suggested as a means of reducing competition for food (Wolcott 1973) and on the Cape Slope this movement would also place C. grata in a zone of higher food abundance;…”

Section: Diurnal Rhythm Of Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat partitioning and thermal tolerance in a tropical limpet, Cellana grata

Ga¹,

Morritt²

1995

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

206

230

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Populations of the tropical limpet Cellana grata Gould were studied on exposed shores around Cape d'Aguilar, Hong Kong. C. grata is a high shore species, the zonation pattern of which varies seasonally, shifting downwards in association with increasing summer temperatures. C. grata is a non-homing species and was active (foraging) whilst awash by the tide, moving up and down the shore with the flood and ebb tides, respectively. Limpets moved up to 1 m in the vertical plane over a tidal cycle. When not foraging limpets took refuge in habitats that reduced the effects of high temperature and desiccation stress. Temperature measurements of individuals and their physical environment showed that the quality of these refuges varied both spatially and temporally. Horizontal rock surfaces were hotter than vertical surfaces; limpet body temperatures and habitat temperatures in refuges (crevices, pool interfaces and east-facing vertical surfaces) were consistantly cooler than adjacent habitats by 3 to 8°C and limpet body temperatures were usually 2°C warmer than the rock they rested on. Experimental manipulations with specimens restrained 0.5 m above their normal resting height or on horizontal rock surfaces and prevented from returning to refuges caused desiccation, osmotic stress and, in many cases, death as a consequence of prolonged emersion In these sub-optimal habitats. Tndividuals on horizontal surfaces lost water more rapidly than those on vertical surfaces and showed higher mortality. C. grata does not adopt many of the behavioural adaptions to reduce heat stress shown by other gastropod species. It does, however, exhibit 'mushrooming' behaviour, lifting its shell from the rock surface, although the exact benefits of this behaviour are unclear. Summer physical extremes may strongly select for limpet activity rhythms entrained by wave splash and the selection of refuges from high temperatures and desiccation when inactive. Variation in the quality of these refuges can lead to selective mortality during very hot periods.

show abstract

Foraging behaviour of Patella vulgata L. in an Irish sea-lough

Cited by 44 publications

References 29 publications

Macroalgae contribute to the diet of Patella vulgata from contrasting conditions of latitude and wave exposure in the UK

Macroalgae contribute to the diet of Patella vulgata from contrasting conditions of latitude and wave exposure in the UK

Small-scale temporal and spatial variability in foraging behaviour of the mid-shore gastropod Nerita yoldii on seasonal, tropical, rocky shores

Habitat partitioning and thermal tolerance in a tropical limpet, Cellana grata

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About