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Assessing interactions among native snails and the invasive New Zealand mud snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, using grazing experiments and stable isotope analysis

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Abstract

The New Zealand mud snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, is an invasive snail that can impact native snail populations. However, conflicting results from competition experiments between native snails and P. antipodarum have resulted in ambiguity about the type of impacts of P. antipodarum on native snails. We conducted grazing trials with the native North American snail, Fluminicola sp., and P. antipodarum to increase the understanding of possible impacts of P. antipodarum on this native snail. We also conducted stable isotope analysis for snails at two locations: one with P. antipodarum present and the other without this invasive snail. Based on treatment fecal mass, no significant difference was seen for grazing trials; however, single species treatments showed 4.8 times higher gram-specific fecal mass in P. antipodarum than Fluminicola sp., suggesting that P. antipodarum is a more efficient grazer. Carbon stable isotopes suggest that these snails share food resources at the invaded location. Strong overlap in food sources for P. antipodarum and Fluminicola sp. may indicate competition for food and a shift in the food resources used by Fluminicola sp. in invaded areas.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank C. Torrieri for assistance in setting up the algae growth chamber and for work in deploying tiles in the field. We are also grateful to C. McNeely, C. Nezat and two anonymous reviewers for comments which have improved this manuscript.

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  1. Michele D. Larson

    Present address: Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Eastern Washington University, 258 Science Building, Cheney, WA, 99004, USA

    Michele D. Larson & A. Ross Black

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  1. Michele D. Larson
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  2. A. Ross Black
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Correspondence to Michele D. Larson.

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Handling editor: M. Power

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Larson, M.D., Ross Black, A. Assessing interactions among native snails and the invasive New Zealand mud snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, using grazing experiments and stable isotope analysis. Hydrobiologia 763, 147–159 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2369-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2369-z

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