Predation by the naticid gastropod Polinices lewisii (Gould) on littleneck clams Protothaca staminea (Conrad) in British Columbia

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Abstract

Feeding rates and prey-size selection of the predatory naticid snail Polinices lewisii (Gould) on the littleneck clam Protothaca staminea (Conrad) were studied on the west coast of British Columbia. Caging experiments indicated that few clams of the smallest size class (10–35 mm shell length) were drilled by Polinices lewisii; predation was heaviest on clams in the size range 35–50 mm. Feeding rates of P. lewisii did not vary significantly over the range of densities provided in field experiments, nor were they influenced by the close proximity of other moon snails. Feeding rates were relatively low. Summer feeding rates of P. lewisii indicated a correlation with respect to snail size, and results from the annual study indicated a seasonal trend towards reduced consumption during the winter months. Polinices lewisii, feeding on P. staminea, was estimated to eat 0.1% of its own dry mass per day. Information from recovered shells of drilled clams showed that the diameter of boreholes was correlated with snail length but only poorly correlated with shell thickness. Boreholes on valves of P. staminea were found mainly in the umbo region. No strong preference for either left or right valve was observed. Random sampling of field populations indicated that prédation by P. lewisii was a minor source of mortality in P. staminea populations at Ladysmith Harbour, British Columbia, Canada.

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