Mucus trails in the rocky intertidal: a highly active microenvironment

Abstract

Examines the significance of mucus trails derived from the herbivorous gastropods Patella caerulea, Monodonta turbinata and Tegula sp. in enhancing microbial activity in marine rocky intertidal and sublittoral zones. The breakdown of mucus material by bacterial enzymes can provide a microenvironment enriched in regenerated inorganic nutrient. The estimated high areal trail mucus production (81 g mucus dry wt m-2yr-1 for P. caerulea, 544 g mucus dry wt m-2yr-1 for M. turbinata) suggests that mucus is a significant source of microbial activity in some nearshore waters. -from Authors