BEHAVIOR STUDIES ON THE MOBILITY OF 2 SPECIES OF ABALONE (HALIOTIS-TUBERCULATA AND HALIOTIS-DISCUS-HANNAI) ON SAND - IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEEDING PROGRAMS

The moving behaviour of two species of abalone (H. tuberculata and H. discus hannai) on sand was studied in laboratory experiments with two size classes. Test animals of all experimental groups left solid subst rata and moved across sand areas. The smaller size class (11-22 mm) wa s significantly less mobile than the larger size class (29-40 mm) in b oth species, and H. discus hannai showed higher mobility than did H. t uberculata. Lack of food was a significant incentive to move for both species and both size classes. For H. discus hannai, the stress of han dling and exposure to the new environment caused increased movement th at decreased as the animals acclimated. The significance of these find ings for fisheries management and reseeding programmes is discussed, i n particular as a possible explanation for the frequently reported 'un accounted for' lost seed abalone.