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This study presents a new approach to examining European chiton habitat use
according to morphological characteristics. Time-search transects were conducted
on four Portuguese rocky shores at two shore levels. The chiton species,
abundance and individual morphometric features were recorded and related to
the substratum dominant epiphytes and surface roughness. The chiton Lepidochitona
cinerea (Linnaeus 1767) was the dominant species (77%), followed by
Leptochiton algesirensis (Capellini 1859) (15%) and Acanthochitona crinita (Pennant
1777) (8%). Species abundance did not vary significantly with shore level
or amongst shores. Six colour morphs were considered for Lepidochitona cinerea,
four for A. crinita and one for Lepidochiton algesirensis. Substratum characteristics
significantly explained the variation in species and colour morph
distribution. There was a high correlation between the presence/absence and
type of epiphytic algae and the substratum surface roughness level. We hypothesize
that three mechanisms operating either independently or in interaction
may explain the non-random distribution of colour polymorphisms according
to their habitat characteristics: (i) presence of algae that are part of their diet;
(ii) use of rock as shelter – for instance, crevices and cover resulting from algae
fronds and; (iii) morph–rock colour matching as a camouflage mechanism to
reduce predation pressure.
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