Selective deposit-feeding by Lumbrineris cf. latreilli (Polychaeta: Lumbrineridae), with a new method for assessing selectivity by deposit-feeding organisms

The burrowing and feeding behaviour of an intertidal population of Lumbrineris cf. latreilli Audouin & Milne-Edwards, 1834 in Westernport Bay, Victoria, Australia was studied in 1982. Gut contents showed they were depositfeeders, ingesting predominantly sediment. Individuals were discretely motile, constructing semi-permanent burrows from which they fed upon subsurface deposits. Individuals in this population of L. cf. latreilli were selectively ingesting smaller particles. This is consistent with the predictions of optimal foraging theory modified for deposit-feeders.