Life table and demographic parameters of the Neotropical apple snail Asolene platae (Caenogastropoda, Ampullariidae)

TIECHER, M. J.; SEUFFERT, M. E.; BURELA, S.; MARTÍN, P. R.

AMERICAN MALACOLOGICAL BULLETIN

AMER MALACOLOGICAL SOC, INC

Año: 2017 vol. 35 p. 1 - 7

0740-2783

Apple snails are regarded as invasive or potentially problematic species but some species may be under threat. Life tables are auseful tool to understand the growth potential of freshwater snail populations. Our aim was to estimate the demographic parameters of theNeotropical apple snail Asolene platae (Maton, 1811) to allow a quantitative comparison with invasive apple snails like Pomacea canaliculata(Lamarck, 1822). Life tables were calculated for three laboratory cohorts bred at 25 °C. Life expectancy rises abruptly up to 32?37 months aftera period of high post-hatching mortality of one month. The reproductive value peaked at 15?19 months for two cohorts and at 33 months inthe other one. The net reproductive rates (R0), generation times (GT) and intrinsic rates of increase (r) were as 55.86 hatchlings, 25.7 months,and 0.188 per month on average, respectively. Among freshwater snails there is a clear inverse relationship between r and GT while R0 has aminor positive infl uence. The values of GT and r for A. platae are among the highest and lowest, respectively, calculated for freshwater snailsat 24?26 °C. These low values of r under optimum conditions indicate a relatively low potential of A. platae populations to increase in newhabitats or to recover from disturbances.