Sediment microtopography and shore-bird foraging
- 1 January 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Inter-Research Science Center in Marine Ecology Progress Series
- Vol. 19 (3) , 293-296
- https://doi.org/10.3354/meps019293
Abstract
Short-billed dowitchers Limnodromus griseus were observed feeding on an intertidal sandflat in South Carolina, USA. The resulting probe marks were significantly more abundant on the crests than in the troughs of tidally-formed sand ripples. Penetrometry measurements indicated that ripple crests were significantly more penetrable than troughs. Crest-trough differences in prey distribution and other sediment parameters do not account for this selection of probing sites. Penetration of crests requires only 53-70% of the force needed for troughs and thus requires reduced energy expenditure by the bird. Tactile-searching shorebirds apparently respond to microscale foraging cues as do visually-searching waders.This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Changes in the foraging pattern of plovers in relation to environmental factorsAnimal Behaviour, 1983
- Effects of sediment microtopography on small-scale spatial distributions of meiobenthic nematodesJournal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 1981