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1 December 2008 Possible dispersal of land snails by birds
Kazuto Kawakami, Shinichiro Wada, Satoshi Chiba
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Abstract

Birds are potential dispersal agents of land snails by internal passage through the alimentary canals, such as plant seeds. Thus, we investigated whether snails are found in bird feces and checked damage to them in the oceanic Bonin Islands. Thirty individuals of five land snail species were found in 79 feces samples of Japanese White-eyes (Zosterops japonicus) and Brown-eared Bulbuls (Hypsipetes amaurotis). Two aquatic snail species were also detected in feces of Blue Rockthrushes (Monticola solitarius). Most of the shells remained unbroken, while the bodies were partly melted. When conditions were adequate, snails might be dispersed alive through bird guts.

Kazuto Kawakami, Shinichiro Wada, and Satoshi Chiba "Possible dispersal of land snails by birds," Ornithological Science 7(2), 167-171, (1 December 2008). https://doi.org/10.2326/1347-0558-7.2.167
Received: 23 January 2008; Accepted: 30 September 2008; Published: 1 December 2008
KEYWORDS
Bonin Islands
dispersal
Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus)
land snail
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