Premium
Feeding Habits of Ocinebrina edwardsi (Mollusca: Prosobranchia) a Common Mussel Drill of the Italian Coasts
Author(s) -
Tongiorgi P.,
Nardi P.,
Galleni L.,
Nigro M.,
Salghetti U.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1981.tb00270.x
Subject(s) - mytilus , mussel , predation , mollusca , whelk , biology , fishery , bivalvia , prosobranchia , zoology , gastropoda , invertebrate , ecology
. The shell‐boring gastropod Ocinebrina edwardsi (PAYR.) lives associated with Mytilus galloprovincialis LMK on which it preys. Predation is preferentially directed towards small (< 15 mm long) mussels. The predation rate (number of mussels eaten per gastropod per day) for medium sized mussels (16–25 mm long) during a year ranges from 0.03 to 0.11. The predation rate is directly influenced by the sea‐water temperature. Predation follows a seasonal cycle reaching a maximum in July and a minimum in January. O. edwardsi drills selectively the median anterior region of the mussel valve, close to the dorsal edge.