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Abstract
The vertical distribution and feeding of sixteen species of chiton was examined on a boulder slope at West Island, South Australia. There is a trend of increasing abundance and diversity of species with depth, with most species present at 4–5 m depth where boulders are partly buried by sediment.
Six species are herbivorous, seven omnivorous and three carnivorous. There are generalist and specialist feeders within those feeding types. Specialist feeders include species which eat predominantly drift seagrass (one species), crustose coralline algae (four species), Petroderma crusts (one species), sponge (one species) and amphipods (one species).
A comparison of the distribution with depth of abundance of food organisms attached to the upper and under-surface of boulders with the depth distribution of chitons, shows that the food supply is unlikely to limit the abundance of chitons or affect their distribution. However, drift seagrass and algae, eaten by several species, are abundant only at 4–5 m depth; this may be a factor contributing to the abundance of some chitons at this depth.
