Lottia (lottia.htm)

Invertebrates *Anthopleura elegantissima / sola* *Haliotis cracherodii* *Lottia gigantea* *Mytilus californianus* **Chthamalus spp. / Balanus glandula Tetraclita rubescens Pollicipes polymerus Pisaster ochraceus** Algae Species Home	Lottia gigantea Sowerby, 1834 Owl limpet

		General Description (from Morris et al. 1980):
		General Description (from Morris et al. 1980):
		Shell length can be 100mm (Lindberg 1981) or greater (MARINE data); oval, low profile; anterior apex; surface often rough and eroded; exterior brown with white spots; interior dark with brown margin and prominent owl-shaped marking within bluish muscle scar; foot gray on side; orange or yellow on sole

		Habitat and Range:
		Common on cliff faces and rocks on wave-exposed shores, high and middle intertidal zone (Morris et al. 1980); Northern California to Cenos Is., Baja California


			Biology:


				Lottia maintain territories on rocks by grazing or bulldozing other competitors for rock space (Stimpson 1970). This action creates space and promotes algal growth (Raimondi et al. 1999). The owl limpet can be found at the edge of mussel beds or under rock faces to prevent desiccation or decrease wave exposure (Raimondi et al. 1999). The largest limpets are estimated at 10-15 years old and are believed to breed in the fall and early winter in California (Morris et al. 1980). Change in Lottia populations may greatly affect abundances of other species because it is a key species (Kido and Murray 2003). Although limpets and their feeding territories may be vulnerable to oiling, oil impacts are unclear. Owl limpets were not obviously affected by the 1971 San Francisco oil spill (Chan 1973). Recovery from any major disturbance likely would be lengthy (Raimondi et al. 1999). Lottia are protandrous hermaphrodites (Ricketts et al. 1985), and collecting large individuals which are likely to be female, may skew the gender ratio of Lottia populations and decrease reproduction (Kido and Murray 2003).





	References:
	Chan GL (1973) A study of the effects of the San Francisco oil spill on marine organisms. In Proceedings of joint conference on prevention and control of oil spills. American Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C., pp 741-782 Morris RH, Abbott DL, Haderlie EC (1980). Intertidal invertebrates of California. Stanford University Press, Stanford Kendall A, Kusic K, Maloney E, Williams M (2002) List of species to be discussed at the 2002 MMS Taxonomic Workshop Kido JS and Murray SN (2003) Variation in owl limpet Lottia gigantea population structures, growth rates, and gonadal production on southern california rocky shores. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 257: 111-124 Lindberg DR (1981) Acameidae Gastropoda Mollusca. Boxwood Press, Pacific Grove, CA 122 p Raimondi PT, Ambrose RF, Engle JM, Murray SN, Wilson M (1999) Monitoring of rocky intertidal resources along the central and southern California mainland. 3-Year Report for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Orange Counties (Fall 1995-Spring 1998). OCS Study, MMS 99-0032, U.S. Minerals Management Service, Pacific OCS Region Ricketts EG, Calvin J, Hedgepeth J, Phillips DW (1985) Between Pacific tides, 5th ed., revised by J Hedgepeth. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California Stimpson J (1970) Territorial behavior of the owl limpet Lottia gigantea. Ecol 51:113-118

Updated: 12/9/2004

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