Movement and Directionality of Strombus gigas in Belize

Abstract

This paper discusses an experiment conducted on the distance traveled and directionality of movement of Strombus gigas. It was conducted in May, 2008 at a location off the coast of Belize, known as Tres Cocos. The sample population of Strombus gigas consisted originally of 55 juvenile conch. Individuals were tagged. Then 50% were placed on a sea grass substrate and the remaining 50% were placed on a sandy substrate, and the distance and directionality of the movements of both groups were tracked and recorded at 24 and 72 hours. Failure to locate 23 individual conch on one of the two data collection dates resulted in a reduction of our final sample size to 32 juvenile conch. The data showed that there was no significant difference in the distance of movement due to the substrate on which the conch were placed. There was a minimal difference in the directionality of movement observed on the two substrates. Weather patterns and mating season may have influenced the data.