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waders and their estuarine food supplies - Vlaams Instituut voor de ...

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PREY SIZE SELECTION AND INTAKE RATE<br />

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45<br />

lengih of prey (mm)<br />

Fig. I. Proportion of clams of three species living in the upper 4. 6 & 8 cm of Ihe substrate as a function of shell size. The rcsulls are given<br />

separate!) for ihc summer months, Inly to Septembei (left), <strong>and</strong> Ihe winter period, November to March (rightI. The numbers ul clams in the<br />

samples are shown I in I Zwarts A: Wanink 1989).<br />

Oystercatcher is actually larger than the 'touch area'<br />

<strong>de</strong>fined by the equations in Table 1. because the surface<br />

area of the bill tip needs also to be laken into account<br />

(Hulscher 1982). Probing Oystercatchers leave<br />

behind imprints in ihe mud (see photo in Davidson<br />

1967). enabling the hill-lip surface area lo be measured.<br />

With ihe small space between the slighilv<br />

opened upper <strong>and</strong> lower m<strong>and</strong>ibles inclu<strong>de</strong>d, the probing<br />

surface equals a rectangle measuring II X 1.4 mm<br />

(Hulscher 1982). As the touch area <strong>de</strong>pends on the stir<br />

lace area of ihe shell <strong>and</strong> not on its shape, for 'simplicity<br />

ti is treaied as a circle. The 'effective touch area' is<br />

then equivalent to the touch area" (nr) enlarged by the<br />

surface area of the bill lip. Table I shows how lo calculate<br />

'effective touch area' from "touch area' <strong>and</strong> gives,<br />

as an example, the surface areas [i u two size classes.<br />

157<br />

Mussel-eating Oystercatchers occasionally probe<br />

by touch, bul usually appear to feed by sight (Hulscher<br />

19961. This makes il impossible lo use ihe method discussed<br />

above to measure the probability that prey will<br />

be <strong>de</strong>tected at r<strong>and</strong>om. Ens (19X2) argues that prev en<br />

counter rale in visually hunting Oystercatchers mav<br />

also be a function of the surface <strong>de</strong>tection area of the<br />

prey, <strong>and</strong> thus about equivalent to ihe squared lengih of<br />

ihe shell. Oilier papers on size selection of mussel-eat<br />

mg ()v siercaichers have followed the same asstimpiion<br />

i Meire & Ervynck 1986. Sutherl<strong>and</strong> & Ens 1987. Cayford<br />

& GoSS-CtJ8tard 1990) <strong>and</strong> it will also be used<br />

here. Studies on mussel size selection have ten<strong>de</strong>d to<br />

focus on hammering Oystercatchers because it is possible<br />

to calculate the available fraction, i.e. those shells<br />

that are not covered with barnacles <strong>and</strong> which are ihin

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