Foot detachment from the substrate can have serious consequences for intertidal and shallow sub-tidal snails exposed to heavy wave action or strong subsurface currents (Denny and Gaines, 2007). Chlorostoma and Nucella are found on wave-swept, exposed rocky shores along the Pacific coast of North America. Their densities can be high (792/m2 for Chorostoma ( Paine, 1969), 50/m2 for Nucella ( Navarrete et al., 2000)) and they
Vicriviroc are ecologically important as grazers and predators ( Morris et al., 1980). Tegula and Lithopoma are common grazers in shallow seagrass beds along the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean where storms can generate strong waves and currents. Tegula reaches densities of 14.3 individuals/m2 in Florida ( Frankovich and Zieman, 2005). Time-density values for Lithopoma exceed 200 snails counted per hour ( McClanahan, 1992). Urosalpinx lives in protected bays and estuaries often amongst oysters along both American coasts and Northern Europe, but can be exposed to strong wave action. They are important predators on oysters and barnacles and their densities can exceed hundreds per square meter ( Rittschof et al., 1983). Any marine snail that detaches its foot, falls over, and cannot reattach can be subject to predation, desiccation, or transport to unfavorable habitats ( Denny and Gaines, 2007), although Miller et al. (2007) found that 54–90% of periwinkles (Littorina sp.) were able to recover from experimental dislodgment and return to the proper habitat. Since all of the snails in
albinism study are common over a broad geographic range, sub-lethal effects of foot detachment can have lethal and ecologically-important consequences in habitats subject to wave action.
