Intraspecific trail following by the mud snailIlyanassa obsoleta†

Abstract

In the laboratory the mud snail llyanassa obsoleta follows the mucous trails of conspecifics away from the trail's origin in the absence of any cue other than some parameter of the mucous trail. Cues guiding directionally polarized trail following persist after trails have been immersed in seawater for at least four hours. Individual snails can distinguish their own from a conspecific's trail as evidenced by the preference of mud snails to pursue a con • specific's trail rather than their own. The responses of llyanassa to trails of the closely related gastropod Nassarius vibex are similar to its responses to conspecific's trails, but N. vibex exhibits species‐specific trail following. The data suggest that chemoreception is involved in trail following behavior and the results are discussed in reference to aspects of the ecology of llyanassa.