Dispersion of the salt-marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata: Effects of water level,size, and season |
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| Authors: | Caryn C Vaughn Frank M Fisher |
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| Institution: | 1. Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 73019, Norman, Oklahoma
2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, 77251, Houston, Texas
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| Abstract: | This paper documents horizontal and vertical dispersion patterns of a Texas population of the saltmarsh periwinkle, Littoraria irrorata, over a 15-month period. The study was conducted within a tidal marsh on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Galveston Bay. Two mark-recapture experiments demonstrated that L. irrorata rarely move more than 2 m from their release point over long periods of time and do not home to individual Spartina plants. Adult L. irrorata forage farther away from the base of Spartina stalks at low tide than do juvenile snails. Remaining near the plant base may decrease both temperature and desiccation stress on juveniles. During warm months, L. irrorata climb grass stalks with tidal inundation and forage on the substratum at low tide. Snails are inactive and aggregate in detrital debris at the base of Spartina clumps during the winter. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY058 00016 |
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