Ecology
Habitat
P.bedfordi are species-rich throughout the Indo-Pacific region (Newman & Schupp, 2002). In Australia, they have been seen cruising on intertidal reef flats, in bays, the reef slope and swimming around the lagoons of Heron Island (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Map of Heron Island Reef
(Retrieved from BIOL 3211 Marine Invertebrates Handbook , 2013)
They move by using their body margins to create a ruffling motion while swimming. When resting, they seek shade beneath large boulders and flat coral rubble plates and sometimes lie between narrow crevices of the reef. By night, they come out to feed on ascidians (Fig. 3) and small crustaceans.
Figures 2 &3. P. bedfordi swimming between algae and over coral rubble
|