Data from: Dynamic measurements of black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) predation on mussels (Mytilus californianus)

Intertidal zone mussels can face threats from a variety of predatory
species during high and low tides, and they must balance the threat of
predation against other needs such as feeding and aerobic respiration.
Black oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani) on the Pacific coast of North
America can depend on the mussel Mytilus californianus for a substantial
portion of their diet. Observations suggest that oystercatchers tend to
focus on mussels beginning to gape their valves during rising tides,
following periods of aerial emersion. We present detailed, autonomous
field measurements of the dynamics of three such predation events in the
rocky intertidal zone. We measured accelerations of up to 4 g imposed on
mussels, with handling times of 115 to 290 s required to open the shell
and remove the majority of tissue. In each case a single oystercatcher
attacked a mussel that had gaped the shell valves slightly wider than its
neighbors as the rising tide began to splash the mussel bed, but no other
obvious characteristic of the mussels, such as body temperature or
orientation, could be linked to the oystercatcher’s individual prey
choice.