Drilus beetle larvae (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are specialized predators of land snails. Here, we describe various aspects of the predator-prey interactions between multiple Drilus species attacking multiple Albinaria (Gastropoda: Clausiliidae) species in Greece. We observe that Drilus species may be facultative or obligate Albinaria-specialists. We map geographically varying predation rates in ...

Aegistasubchinensis (Möllendorff, 1884) is a widely distributed land snail species with morphological variation and endemic to Taiwan. Three genetic markers (partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I [COI], the 16S rDNA and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 [ITS2]) were analysed to infer phylogenetic relationships and genetic divergence of closely related spec...

Whether a prey population goes extinct or adapts in response to an invading predator may depend on the number of contiguous populations that experience increased predation. We created invaded snail populations by building shelters for predatory shore crabs on a rocky intertidal bench. The crabs preyed selectively on thin-shelled snails tethered next to the shelters but did not prey on those mor...

Inter-archipelago exchange networks were an important aspect of prehistoric Polynesian societies. We report here a novel genetic characterization of a prehistoric exchange network involving an endemic Pacific island tree snail, Partula hyalina. It occurs in the Society (Tahiti only), Austral and Southern Cook Islands. Our genetic data, based on museum, captive and wild-caught samples, establish...

The spring-snail genus Bythinella is a diverse group of minute operculate gastropods, usually restricted to springs and widely distributed in Europe. Species are primarily delineated based on shell characters such as size or overall shape. Nevertheless, studies molecular morphological approaches show that these can be highly variable do not necessarily have taxonomic significance. In this paper...

The molluscan shell can be viewed as a petrified representation of the organism's ontogeny and thus can be used as a record of changes in form during growth. However, little empirical data is available on the actual growth and form of shells, as these are hard to quantify and examine simultaneously. To address these issues, we studied the growth and form of a land snail that has an irregularly ...

Studies of plant invasions rarely address impacts on molluscs. By comparing pairs of invaded and corresponding uninvaded plots in 96 sites in floodplain forests, we examined effects of four invasive alien plants (Impatiens glandulifera, Fallopia japonica, F. sachalinensis, and F.× bohemica) in the Czech Republic on communities of land snails. The richness and abundance of living land snail spec...

As large numbers of metacercariae of Fasciola hepatica are necessary for research, experimental infections of Galba truncatula and Pseudosuccinea columella with this digenean were carried out to determine the better intermediate host for metacercarial production and, consequently, the most profitable snail for decreasing the cost price of these larvae. Pre-adult snails (4 mm in shell height) or...

By modifying the behaviour and morphology of hosts, parasites may strongly impact host individuals, populations and communities. We examined the effects of a common trematode parasite on its snail host, Batillaria cumingi (Batillariidae). This widespread snail is usually the most abundant invertebrate in salt marshes and mudflats of the northeastern coast of Asia. More than half (52.6%, n=1360)...

Florida apple snails (Pomacea paludosa) were exposed to three concentrations of copper (Cu), in water (8 microg/L, 16 microg/L, 24 microg/L), for one generation to examine uptake and the effects on survival, growth, and reproduction of the F(0) generation and survival, growth, and whole body Cu of the F(1) generation. During a 9-month Cu exposure, apple snails exposed to 8-16 microg/L Cu had hi...