Experimental techniques to the study tho the bioerosive action of de Patella rustica Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca; Gastropoda; Patel lidae) in the rocky coast of Mallorca (Western Mediterranean)

Bioerosion is the biological breakdown of hard substrates by boring, grazing, etchting and abrading organisms. Many marine intertidal gastropods, such as limpets, contribute to the erosion by grazing rock substrate in the search for algal food, leaving distinctive marks on the surface of the rock. The present work focuses on the laboratory characterisation and the description of the scratches leaved in an artificial surface (dental wax plates) by the Mediterranean limpet Patella rustica in their feeding activit