ABSTRACT
Motivation to eat greatly influences its responsiveness to current and water-borne odors from prey. Fed asteroids behave erratically, whereas asteroids starved for 2 mo exhibit predictable behaviors revealing the species foraging strategy. In the absence of prey, starved asteroids search by moving cross-current which increases the probability of encountering odor plumes. The chapter argues that strong currents are preferred because they increase the spatial definition of odor plumes which facilitates localizing prey. When starved L. polaris perceive prey, they move upstream towards the odor plume. Because this should reduce the predator’s conspicuousness, it may increase its chances of capturing the prey.
