Herbivory by C. oculus is the primary biological factor preventing the recruitment and colonisation of macroalgae and some invertebrates onto the Kalk Bay intertidal zone and is thus more important in structuring this marine community than physical factors associated with desiccation stress.
Nearly all adult winkles Oxystele sinensis encountered in the Kalk Bay (Western Cape province, South Africa) shallow subtidal zone were observed to bear a thick, convoluted form of the non-geniculate coralline red alga Spongites discoidea, showing that O. sinensis is for the most part restricted to the shallow subt tidal zone and rockpools, whereas the morphologically similar O. tigrina is largelyrestricted to the intertidal zone.
The author examines the ecology of Oxystele in South Africa through the lens of rocky shore zonation, winkle-coralline associations, and the role of winkles in this process.