title: Discrimination of Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) feces in deposited materials by fecal morphology.
abstract: In the present study, we determined the common morphological characteristics of the feces of Mytilus galloprovincialis to develop a method for visually discriminating the feces of this mussel in deposited materials. This method can be used to assess the effect of mussel feces on benthic environments. The accuracy of visual morphology-based discrimination of mussel feces in deposited materials was confirmed by DNA analysis. Eighty-nine percent of mussel feces shared five common morphological characteristics. Of the 372 animal species investigated, only four species shared all five of these characteristics. More than 96% of the samples were visually identified as M. galloprovincialis feces on the basis of morphology of the particles containing the appropriate mitochondrial DNA. These results suggest that mussel feces can be discriminated with high accuracy on the basis of their morphological characteristics. Thus, our method can be used to quantitatively assess the effect of mussel feces on local benthic environments.
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan. Electronic address: akiyama-y92y2@mlit.go.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Erina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iseri
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.affiliation: Ecological Analysis Division, Institute of Environmental Informatics, IDEA Consultants, Inc., 2-2-2, Hayabuchi, Tsuzuki, Yokohama, Kanagawa 224-0025, Japan.
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Ecological Analysis Division, Institute of Environmental Informatics, IDEA Consultants, Inc., 2-2-2, Hayabuchi, Tsuzuki, Yokohama, Kanagawa 224-0025, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyonori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katsukoshi
authors.affiliation: Coastal and Estuarine Environment Department, Port and Airport Research Institute, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirotada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moki
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryoji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Ramrav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hem
authors.affiliation: Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 3-1-1, Nagase, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces; D049878:Mytilus / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Fecal pellet; Invasive species; Morphological characteristics; Sinking particles