Limpet Wrasslin with the Wright Lab

Every couple of weeks, Dr. Wright and his student collaborators venture out to Inspiration Point to study the territorial habits of the Lottia gigantea, or limpet. Since limpets only appear at night, two or three successive trips at eleven o’clock pm are required, when the tide is low enough to observe some of the most lethal territorial behavior in the animal kingdom.

Dubbed “limpet wrasslin” by Wright and his students, the goal is to discover how well limpets hold on to a rock when guarding their territory. Armed with wetsuits, headlamps, calipers, spring scales, and water cannons, students carefully observe how limpets in their natural habitat react when sprayed with water from the cannons in the heat of a territorial contest.

Faculty: Dr. William Wright, Department of Biological Sciences

Student Collaborators: John Berriman, Rebecca Emshwiler, Maria Mason

Manuscripts In Preparation:

Zachary, V., M. Mason, and W.G. Wright. Resistance to lift forces in the limpet Lottia gigantea: Escalated territorial behavior elevates risk of dislodgement by waves.

Berriman, J., M. Mason, M. Denny and W.G. Wright. Water cannon discharges that mimic shear force of moderate waves reveal elevated risk of dislodgement during territorial encounters in the limpet Lottia gigantea.