Time partitioning of foraging in the limpet Patella vulgata

Abstract

Limpets at Lough Hyne, Co. Cork, do not appear to forage so as to maximize their net energy gain, probably due to the predictability of foraging periods. The strategy of cost minimization also provided poor estimates for the time budgets observed, probably because the animals require energy for growth of the somatic and gonadal tissues. The partitioning of time between travelling and intense foraging by a limpet while foraging can, however, be explained in terms of a strategy of time minimization. Possible environmental constraints which could influence limpet foraging trips and how these change with increasing height up the shore are discussed. The possibility that the "feeding' trips may maintain the algal biofilm in a highly productive phase is also discussed. That the foraging behaviour of limpets varies between different sites around the British Isles may be due to varying combinations of predation and desiccation risks. -from Authors