Adaptations of two Intertidal Isopods II. Comparison betweenCampecopea HirsutaandNAESA BIDENTATA(Sphaeromatidae)

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Abstract
In the investigation described in this paper, respiration, resistance to desiccation and feeding behaviour of .the mid- to upper-tidal isopod Campecopea hirsuta was studied and compared with the analogous parameters of behaviour in the lower intertidal species Naesa bidentataC. hirsuta occurs in the middle part of the shore where it can be found within empty shells of Chthamalus. Its preferred habitat, however, is the lichen Lichina pygmaea the vertical distribution of which extends from OD to MHWS.Campecopea hirsuta feeds on the blue-green algae that make up the outer layer of the lichen L. pygmaea. When continuously submerged the isopod feeds in bursts, the timing of which is different in different specimens. This mode of feeding under experimental conditions is taken as reflecting the rhythmic way of life of this species in its natural environment but it seems to be controlled by endogenous factors. Naesa bidentata, on the other hand, does not display such endogenous rhythms in its feeding behaviour.

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