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1 April 2016 Physiology of the Invasive Apple Snail Pomacea maculata: Tolerance to Low Temperatures
Lewis E. Deaton, William Schmidt, Brody Leblanc, Jacoby Carter, Kristy Mueck, Sergio Merino
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Abstract

Apple snails of the genus Pomacea native to South America have invaded and become established in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Both the channeled apple snail Pomacea canaliculata and the island apple snail Pomacea maculata have been reported in theUnited States. The two species are difficult to distinguish usingmorphological characters, leading to uncertainty about the identity of the animals from populations in the United States. Because the snails are subtropical, their tolerance of low temperatures is a critical factor in limiting the spread of the animals from present localities along the coast of the Gulf ofMexico to more northern areas. The tolerance of P. maculata collected in Louisiana to temperatures as low as 0°C was examined. There was no mortality among animals maintained in water at temperatures of 20°C or 15°C for 10 days. Survival of animals during a 10-day exposure towater at temperatures 10°C and 5°C was 50%. The LD50 for a 10-day exposure was 7°C. Snails did not survivemore than 5 days in liquid water at 0°C. Ammonia excretion by animals in temperatures of 20°C and 15°C was comparable to values reported for freshwater gastropods; at very lowtemperatures, excretion of ammoniawas decreased.Therewas no difference in themean values of the osmolality of the hemolymph of animals exposed to 20°C, 15°C and 10°C for 10 days. Sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 identified the animals in the Louisiana population used in this study as P. maculata.

Lewis E. Deaton, William Schmidt, Brody Leblanc, Jacoby Carter, Kristy Mueck, and Sergio Merino "Physiology of the Invasive Apple Snail Pomacea maculata: Tolerance to Low Temperatures," Journal of Shellfish Research 35(1), 207-210, (1 April 2016). https://doi.org/10.2983/035.035.0122
Published: 1 April 2016
KEYWORDS
apple snail
COI sequence
Pomacea
temperature tolerance
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