The behavioral hierarchy of the molluskPleurobranchaea

Abstract

Feeding behavior and the effect of its occurrence on other, unrelated behaviors were studied in the carnivorous marine gastropodPleurobranchaea calif arnica. The threshold of the feeding response is low and stable: it does not change in a circadian fashion (Fig. 1); it does not change during different behavioral states such as mating (Table 4) and quiescence (“sleep” Table 5); the threshold does not change following aversive electric shock to the oral veil (Table 1); and it does not change with repeated application of food stimuli (Fig. 2). In the present paper only two physiological variables were found to elevate the feeding response threshold; excessive mechanical stimulation (Figs. 3, 4) and satiation with food (Fig. 5).