What explains the invading success of the aquatic mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca)?

By Á. Alonso, P. Castro-Díez. Hydrobiologia, 2008

222 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The spread of non-native species is one of the most harmful and least reversible disturbances in ecosystems. Species have to overcome several filters to become a pest (transport, establishment, spread and impact). Few studies have checked the traits that confer ability to overcome these steps in the same species. The aim of the present study is to review the available information on the life-history and ecological traits of the mud snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum Gray (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca), native from New Zealand, in order to explain its invasive success at different aquatic ecosystems around the world. A wide tolerance range to physico-chemical factors has been found to be a key trait for successful transport. A high competitive ability at early stages of succession can explains its establishment success in human-altered ecosystems. A high reproduction rate, high capacity for active and passive dispersal, and the escape from native predators and parasites explains its spread success. The high reproduction and the ability to monopolize invertebrate secondary production explain its high impact in the invaded ecosystems. However, further research is needed to understand how other factors, such as population density or the degree of human perturbation can modify the invasive success of this aquatic snail.

Subfields: Ecology, Insect Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b0c9133804eb493dfa4307e4801e6368a780a98a

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Citations in the corpus

Support for major hypotheses in invasion biology is uneven and declining (2012, background): “The mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca) is native to New Zealand but has spread worldwide, invading ecosystems in Europe, Australia, America and Asia (Alonso and Castro-Díez 2008).”
Alien Non-Marine Snails and Slugs of Priority Quarantine Importance in the United States: A Preliminary Risk Assessment (2009, background): “…molluscs (e.g., Veltman et al. 1996, Goodwin et al. 1999, Lockwood 1999, Duncan et al. 2001, Kolar and Lodge 2001, Sakai et al. 2001, Daehler et al. 2004, Leung et al. 2004, Marchetti et al. 2004, Theoharides and Dukes 2007, Alonso and Castro-Díez 2008, Bomford et al. 2008, Hayes and Barry 2008).”
A system for rapid eDNA detection of aquatic invasive species (2019, background): “Mudsnails are known to persist in a wide range of habitats, but little is documented with regards to specific habitat preference (Alonso and Castro-Diez 2008).”