Strong patterns of head orientation in Patella spp. of the UK

Abstract

Patellogastropod limpets are a widespread and extensively studied taxa, and yet comparisons between species and geographic regions are rare; instead, results are often generalized across these differences. This study investigated patterns of head orientation in Patella species at four locations in the UK. The proportion of downwards facing limpets was also compared between areas in two locations with and without barnacles. Regardless of location, there was a strong downwards bias in orientation and the proportion of downwards facing limpets did not differ in the presence of barnacles. The results are compared with patterns of orientation exhibited by the Australian patellogastropod Cellana tramoserica; this suggests that malacologists should be more cautious in extrapolating patterns of behaviour and distribution between species of patellogastropods and across regions.

Keywords:

• barnacles
• behaviour
• habitats
• intertidal
• limpets
• rocky shore

Acknowledgements

This study was supported with funding from The University of Sydney and the Malacological Society of London. The author would like to thank S. Jenkins and S. Hawkins for their hospitality during her visit and M. Maclean and T. Potter for assistance in the field. She is also grateful for the critical comments of earlier versions of this manuscript provided by R. Coleman, D. McElroy and other members of CME. She thanks two anonymous reviewers for their feedback which improved the manuscript greatly.