Data and analysis from studies into optimal search of predatory snail Polinices.
Polynices snails search for prey in the intertidal zone at low tide. The environment within which they search represents a 2-dimensional plane. Prey items appear to be detected via mechanical response rather than chemical senses (although this is likely to play a part).
This analysis asks two questions concerning the optimal search path:
- to find a prey item given an environmental abundance of that item
- to find a prey item once discovered and the prey item evades the predator
- when to give up searching in a particular area
- when to give up searching for a detected item
The study was conducted as part of an unfinished PhD thesis at James Cook University in 1984 and 1985. Two study sites and two species of Polinices were investigated:
- Polynices conicus in Townsville between Rowes Bay and Pallarenda
- Polynices incea on the Sunshine Coast between Marcoola and Mudjimba
The data directory contains:
- ORIG_DATA:
- DATAFILE: The original captured data from snails and prey
- TRACKS: Above files separated into individual tracks
- ATTACK: Attack behaviour of P. sordidus
- ANALYSIS: Conversion of tracks into excel spreadsheets with some initial graphs and analysis