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Preliminary observations on factors affecting foraging activity in the limpet Patella vulgata

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

Colin Little ,
David Morritt ,
David M. Paterson ,
Penny Stirling  and
Gray A. Williams
Colin Little
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UG
David Morritt
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UG
David M. Paterson
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UG
Penny Stirling
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD
Gray A. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UG
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Abstract

Activity patterns of limpets were studied at two adjacent sites in an Irish sea lough, Lough Hyne, in order to relate timing of activity to physical and biological influences. Activity was suppressed during heavy rainfall, and osmotic stress from dilution appears to have led to increased mortality in transplanted limpets. Activity increased as tides progressed from neaps to springs, and for limpets low on the shore it was enhanced by wave action. It is suggested that lack of activity in calm water may reduce predation pressure from crabs, which caused high mortality in transplanted limpets. Either low relative humidity or dryness of the rock diminished activity of low-water limpets. Differences in feeding activity between low-water limpets and high-water limpets may relate to food supply, since more food was available low on the shore, and the guts of low-water limpets contained more diatoms than those of high-water individuals. Differences between the two sites are at present unexplained but may relate to differences in micro habitats.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 181 - 195
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1990

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