This study surveyed the size distribution of Lepsiella vinosa at 3 sites on the rocky shore at West Head, Victoria. Monthly or bi-monthly searchers were conducted from June 1975 to August 1978 during spring low tide. Every individual L.vinosa found at the 3 sites was measured to the nearest 0.01cm with vernier calipers. To determine recruitment of L.vinosa to the shore, individuals were arbitrarily designated as juveniles (< 0.8 cm) or adult (> 0.8 cm). The type of microhabitat where each individual was found was recorded at Sites 1 and 2 for the searchers conducted in spring (November 1977), summer (January 1978), autumn (April 1978), and winter (August 1978). There were larger individuals of L.vinosa at higher intertidal levels (Site 1) compared to the mid- and lower sites (Sites 2 and 3). The recruitment of juveniles could not be determined from the size frequency distribution at any of the sites. There was more L.vinosa than expected in the rock pool habitats compared to the bare rock in all seasons except for winter at Site 2. There was high variability in abundance in the Lichinia habitat between all seasons and sites.

This study surveyed the size distribution of Lepsiella vinosa at 3 sites on the rocky shore at West Head, Victoria. Monthly or bi-monthly searchers were conducted from June 1975 to August 1978 during spring low tide. Every individual L.vinosa found at the 3 sites was measured to the nearest 0.01cm with vernier calipers. To determine recruitment of L.vinosa to the shore, individuals were arbitrarily designated as juveniles (< 0.8 cm) or adult (> 0.8 cm). The type of microhabitat where each individual was found was recorded at Sites 1 and 2 for the searchers conducted in spring (November 1977), summer (January 1978), autumn (April 1978), and winter (August 1978). There were larger individuals of L.vinosa at higher intertidal levels (Site 1) compared to the mid- and lower sites (Sites 2 and 3). The recruitment of juveniles could not be determined from the size frequency distribution at any of the sites. There was more L.vinosa than expected in the rock pool habitats compared to the bare rock in all seasons except for winter at Site 2. There was high variability in abundance in the Lichinia habitat between all seasons and sites.

This study used observations of Lepsiella vinosa and surveys of prey species to describe the diet of L.vinosa on rocky shore at West Head, Victoria. The numbers of individual L.vionsa observed feeding were recorded during the surveys of Site 1 and Site 2 from 1975 to 1978 (see ?The population dynamics of the gastropod Lepsiella vinosa on the West Head rocky shore in Victoria? file identifier: 05f4f7f0-f49f-11dc-9f74-00188b4c0af8). In addition, six quadrats (25 x 25 cm) were randomly placed at the 2 sites every 2 months from March 1976 to January 1977. The number and size (measured to the nearest 0.01 cm) of prey species was recorded in each quadrat. The number of L.vinosa recorded feeding varied seasonally and strongly correlated with the changes in density of prey species. In Area 1, L.vinosa was feeding on Littorina unifasciata for 66% of the observations and Littorina praetermissa, Bembicium nanum, Kellia australis, Nerita atramentosa, Chthamalus atennatus and Zenostrobus pulex for the remaining proportion of observations (n=895). In Area 2, there were fewer observations of feeding L.vinosa (n=53) with the same species recorded as prey items but the majority 34% of L.vinosa was feeding on Nerita atramentosa. Analyses of the data from the quadrats indicated that, in late summer and autumn, L.vinosa reduced its selectivity for prey species, compared to early winter and spring, when they targeted Littorina spp.

This study used histological methods to describe the reproductive cycle of Lepsiella vinosa. L.vinosa was collected from the West Head rocky shore on 12 occasions between April 1975 and March 1976. Individual shell lengths were measured and the soft tissue of the animals removed to determine the sex. Four to six animals of each sex were used for histological examination by excising a 5 mm section of the visceral coil from each animal. Ovarian sections at 100 micron intervals were examined under a compound binocular microscope and the numbers of immature and mature oocytes were counted. The area of the testis in the visceral coil was used as an estimate of the maturity of males. There were 177 males and 169 females collected and the females (average 0.86 ± 0.09 cm) were generally larger than males (average 0.82 ± 0.09 cm). The sex ratio was female bias throughout the year. There were significantly more immature oocytes present in the ovary throughout the year with a peak in May and June. The testis occupied a proportionally larger cross-sectional area of the visceral coil in summer and early autumn and then decreased in size to a minimum in August. This testis size correlated with observations of copulating pairs of L.vinosa during autumn and winter at West Head.

This study investigated mortality of egg capsules, juveniles, and adult Lepsiella vinosa on the rocky shore at West Head, Victoria. Observations conducted between 1974 and 1979 indicated that polychaetes, nematodes, nemerteans, planarians and mollusks all prey on L.vinosa egg capsules. It was estimated that at least 43% of embryos found over the study period did not hatch. To estimate juvenile mortality, an area of about 0.5 m2 of shingle beach immediately above the rocky shore was excavated to a depth of 15 cm on 21 July 1978. The shingle was sieved through a series of sieves with the smallest size being 1.00 mm. There were 220 empty L.vinosa shells found in the sample and the majority was between 9.5 and 14.0 mm long. A size-frequency distribution of L.vinosa shells was used to estimate the age of death for each individual. The causes of juvenile and adult morality were probably predation by crabs (e.g. Carcinus maenus) and adverse environmental conditions associated with tide emersion periods and desiccation. The results indicated that juvenile mortality is generally low in the first 3 years after hatching and steadily increases throughout the remainder of the life span (up to 10 years). There was no L.vinosa found in the gut contents of the parrotfishes P.fucicola or P.tetricus. Observations of the study area during high tide periods suggested that no other species of fish or bird prey on L.vinosa at West Head.

This study used a mark-recapture method to examine the patterns of shell growth of Lepsiella vinosa on the rocky shore at West Head, Victoria. Individuals were collected from the West Head shore on 24th March 1974 and 29th May 1975. They were transported back to the laboratory and marked with individually labeled tags. The next day they were released in the field in the areas from where they were collected. Study sites 1 and 2 were searched on 36 occasions between 25th April 1974 and 28th June 1978. The number of marked individuals, the number of unmarked individuals, and the shell length of marked individuals in the study sites were recorded. When marked individuals were recpatured on successive 1-month or 2-monthly sampling occasions the monthly or mean monthly growth-increments were calculated. There was a total of 254 marked individuals recapture and a total of 626 growth increments recorded. The growth rate of L.vinosa depended on the size of the individual and ranged between 0.025 and 0.4 cm per month. Maximum growth of L.vinosa in all size classes occurred between September and October. Variation in growth rate between seasons was most evident in size classes from 1.00 to 1.09 cm and less pronounced in larger size classes from 1.10 to 1.59cm.

This study investigated the movement of Lepsiella vinosa on the West Head rocky shore during October 1976 and May 1977. Forty-eight individuals were marked in the October observation period and 100 individuals were marked during the May period. The movements of individuals were followed over 4 intervals that corresponded to conditions of high tide/daylight, low tide/night, high tide/night, low tide/daylight. A Perspex quadrat marked in a grid pattern in 1 cm or 2 cm intervals was placed over the study area and used to record the position of each individual. Mean rate of movement in May 1977 (2.70 ± 0.59 cm/h) was greater than during October 1976 (1.11 ± 0.22 cm/h). At low tide, the rate of movement correlated with air temperatures, with lower movement rates at higher temperatures. At high tide, there was no variation in movement.