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Route Selection in The Foraging of Patella Vulgata (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

G. Chelazzi ,
G. Santini  and
P. Della Santina
G. Chelazzi
Affiliation:
Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Unità Locale di Ricerca di Firenze, c/o Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 1–50125 Firenze, Italy
G. Santini
Affiliation:
Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Unità Locale di Ricerca di Firenze, c/o Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 1–50125 Firenze, Italy
P. Della Santina
Affiliation:
Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Unità Locale di Ricerca di Firenze, c/o Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 1–50125 Firenze, Italy
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Extract

The prosobranch limpet Patella vulgata is an intertidal grazer performing looped excursions centred on a home scar. Foraging within each excursion is mostly concentrated around the point of maximum distance from home. The orientation of the foraging excursions in a group of limpets was analysed on a vertical substrate on a sheltered shore in North Wales. The spatial relationship between different excursions of the same individual was also analysed. A total of 174 complete excursions from 47 adult limpets were obtained using the LED (light emitting diode) tracking technique. In particular, the leaving direction and the direction of the main foraging area of each excursion were computed. When considering the foraging strategy over five consecutive days, a substantially radial cropping pattern was evident at both the population and individual level, with no evident directional preference. However, when considering consecutive excursions of the same individual a concordance in leaving directions was evident in about 40% of cases. The high overlap between the outward branch of the trajectory of one night and the homing branch of the previous one suggests that the directional decision can be based on a trail-following mechanism. Moreover, our data suggest that directional decisions are taken at the beginning of each excursion when leaving home.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , November 1998 , pp. 1223 - 1232
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1998

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