Function of mucus secretion by lamellose ormer, Haliotis tuberculata lamellosa, in response to starfish predation

Gastropods subjected to predation from asteroids have a number of different defensive mechanisms to prevent and defend against attacks. I investigated the production and function of mucus in the lamellose ormer in response to attacks by the spiny starfish, Marthasterias glacialis (Asteriidae, Asteroidea). Production of mucus from respiratory pores on the shell helped obscure the direction of escape of the gastropod from the starfish. The mucus also had repellent properties against this predator and there was some evidence of it being an intraspecific alarm. The results suggest that mucus secretion is part of a larger stereotyped escape response, in which the mucus has an olfactory interference role.