title: Predation at a snail's pace: what's time to a gastropod?
abstract: Predation by naticid gastropods shows evidence of adaptation to maximize the rate of energy intake. The predation rate of Polinices duplicatus feeding on artificially altered, thin-shelled Mercenaria mercenaria was faster than the predation rate on normal Mercenaria. The rate of energy intake was limited by handling time. The time saved by predation on thin-shelled prey was used to forage. Thus time was shown to be valuable to P. duplicatus, and cost-benefit functions using time and energy as currencies are appropriate for estimating dietary efficiency and predicting prey choice.Despite the clear superiority of thin-shelled prey, P. duplicatus did not learn to prefer this novel prey type, suggesting that predator choices are sterotyped, reflecting optima selected over evolutionary time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Christofer H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Boggs
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kitchell
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kitchell