Behaviour and ecology of Pomacea canaliculata from Southern Pampas (Argentina)

MARTÍN, PABLO RAFAEL; SEUFFERT, MARÍA EMILIA; TAMBURI, NICOLÁS EDUARDO; BURELA, SILVANA; SAVEANU, LUCÍA

Biology and management of invasive Apple Snails

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)

Lugar: Nueva Ecija; Año: 2017; p. 241 - 256

Pomacea canaliculata is in many respects the best known species of apple snails (family Ampullariidae), although the available information is both fragmentary and geographically biased. Most studies in its non-native range have focused on applied aspects in managed or artificial wetlands in various countries in Southeast Asia. In its natural range the emphasis has been on basic studies of its reproductive biology, ecology and behaviour in populations from small streams at the southernmost extreme of its distribution (Southern Pampas, Argentina). The extreme geographic position and the lotic nature of these populations may have biased some conclusions about the behavioural and ecological traits of P. canaliculata; contemporary evolution and genetic exchange may also have diversified these traits in the non-native range. Even though the ecological information from native populations may not be directly applicable elsewhere, it nevertheless remains as a necessary reference to understand the full potential of adaptation and spread of P. canaliculata to new environments around the world. Surprisingly enough, comparative studies of native and non-native populations of Pomacea spp. are almost lacking. This short review focuses on the distribution, thermal biology, aerial respiration, feeding, reproduction, phenotypic plasticity and shell shape of Pomacea canaliculata in its native range in Argentina.