The roles of competition, behavioral plasticity and sensory perception in the foraging behavior of an intertidal limpet
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- All animals move during some part of their life cycle, for reasons ranging from finding food, shelter and mates, to avoiding predation, overpopulation and disease. Understanding these movements and their causes is key to understanding the biology, ecology and behavior of animals, and provides critical information to conservationists and managers. However, the simultaneous collection of detailed, small-scale animal movement and environmental data remains a challenge, in part due to the relatively large size of most animals and their habitats. In this thesis, I circumvent this challenge by exploring the movement ecology of a limpet, Lottia austrodigitalis, which is approximately 1 cm in size and utilizes approximately 1 m² of rocky, upper intertidal habitat. L. austrodigitalis forages for microscopic algae, or microalgae, twice a day during high tides. I ask: How does L. austrodigitalis grazing and temperature affect microalgae, and does L. austrodigitalis compete for food with another overlapping spieces, Lottia scabra? Do time of day, tidal height, temperature and significant wave height play a role in L. austrodigitalis foraging activity, and does L. austrodigitalis adapt its movement behaviors in response to changes in microalgal abundance and distribution? Does L. austrodigitalis exhibit personality traits that limit its ability to adapt? How might sensory perception play a role? I found that L. austrodigitalis grazing and high temperatures negatively affect microalgae, and that L. austrodigitalis does not partition its food resources with L. scabra. In addition, I found that L. austrodigitalis activity does correlate with abiotic factors, but that it does not change its movement behaviors in response to food in the field, which is relatively uniform. In the lab, however, L. austrodigitalis exhibits behavioral plasticity as it forages across patchy food landscapes that differ in microalgal distribution and availability, and that plasticity appears to be limited by animal personality. Finally, I found that sensory perception may play a large role in L. austrodigitalis foraging success, although further research is required to better understand limpet sensory capabilities. These results suggest that limpets and other intertidal animals can serve as model organisms for movement ecology, and help us understand the possible roles of competition, abiotic environmental factors, behavioral plasticity, animal personality and sensory perception in animal movement.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | LaScala-Gruenewald, Diana Elizabeth |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology. |
| Primary advisor | Denny, Mark W, 1951- |
| Thesis advisor | Denny, Mark W, 1951- |
| Thesis advisor | De Leo, Giulio A |
| Thesis advisor | Micheli, Fiorenza |
| Thesis advisor | Roopnarine, Peter |
| Thesis advisor | Watanabe, James Minoru |
| Advisor | De Leo, Giulio A |
| Advisor | Micheli, Fiorenza |
| Advisor | Roopnarine, Peter |
| Advisor | Watanabe, James Minoru |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Diana Elizabeth LaScala-Gruenewald. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Diana Elizabeth LaScala-Gruenewald
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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