Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 77 (1): 157-175, 2004
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Foraging behavior of the gastropod Acanthina monodon Pallas, 1774
(Gastropoda: Muricidae) in the intertidal rocky shores of central Chile
We investigated the ecology and foraging behavior of Acanthina monodon, a
muricid gastropod that inhabits in the intertidal rocky shores of central Chile. In the field, we studied temporal variation of their spatial
distribution, density, and diet composition. While in the laboratory, we quantified the consumption rate, alimentary
preferences, ingestion times and energy profitability obtained with different types of prey using experiments and video recording. High
densities of A. monodon individuals were observed in the intertidal fringe near at the level tide zero. In the field,
A. monodon actively foraged at night preying mainly on mussels (95 %) and barnacles (5 %). Temporal variation in diet
composition of A. monodon was caused mostly by changes in the cover of different mussel species during the two years
of sampling. In the laboratory, individual of A. monodon showed significant preference for the mussel Semimytilus
algosus. In these experiments, A. monodon’s foraging behavior maximized the net gain of energy by selecting
species and sizes of prey that provided the greatest energy profitability.
Key words:
gastropod, intertidal,
central Chile, foraging, prey selection
