ONGOING RESEARCH INTO THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECOLOGY OF AN ENDEMIC AND LITTLE KNOWN APPLE SNAIL FROM THE ALTO PARANÁ AND IGUAZÚ RIVERS (ARGENTINA)

MARTÍN, PABLO RAFAEL; BURELA, SILVANA; GUROVICH, FERNANDA MARIEL

Tentacle

IUCN-The World Conservation Union

Lugar: Honolulu; Año: 2015 vol. 23 p. 3 - 6

0958-5079

Most of our knowledge on the biology and ecology of Neotropical apple snails (family Ampullariidae) belongs to only three species out of the dozens that inhabit freshwater habitats distributed from the Florida Peninsula (USA) to Southern Pampas (Argentina). The worldwide interest in two of these species (Pomacea canaliculata and Marisa cornuarietis) is no doubt motivated by their invasiveness and voracious feeding habits, that enhanced their intentional spread as biological control agents (for aquatic weeds and schistosome-bearing snails), or as promising aquaculture animals. Only one species, the Florida apple snail (Pomacea paludosa), has been intensively studied due to conservation concerns, but even in this case the interest has been mostly incidental as it constitutes the staple food of a U.S. Federally Endangered raptor, the snail kite Rostrhamus sociabilis. Excepting conchological, taxonomical and nomenclatural aspects, most Neotropical apple snails are poorly or completely unknown, although some recent studies have been gathering information on the natural history of a few species, Pomacea bridgesii and Asolene platae. On the basis of this increasing but still very fragmentary knowledge, apple snails are habitually seen as quite tough snails with a high biotic potential and an ability to thrive almost anywhere due to their dual respiration system (branchial and pulmonary), their resistance to desiccation, their generalist feeding habits and their unpalatable and even toxic eggs. However, these generalizations may not apply to all apple snails since most of their diversity remains unexplored. Recent reviews have emphasized apple snails as invaders and pests but also as promising evolutionary and genomic models for scientific research. However, from a conservationist viewpoint apple snails have been seen mostly as trouble-makers. Nevertheless, they also deserve to be studied as vulnerable species, providers of ecosystem services (Hayes et al., in press) and for their potential role in biotic resistance against invasive aquatic weeds and snails. Hopefully, in the future there will be a change in the way researchers, conservation managers and public opinion view these interesting snails and in their attitudes toward them.