Diversity of gastropods in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, WA and the regional spread of the invasive European ear snail (Radix auricularia)

Abstract

Establishing base-line knowledge of native snails in an area and their relative abundance is important in understanding the role of snails in their environment and the possible use of snails as a bioindicator. This information can also be used to determine how an invasive species is affecting the native populations over time. Six genera of gastropods were found in the wetland ponds of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR) from April to June 2012, including the invasive European ear snail (Radix auricularia) which was found in four lakes it was not previously known to inhabit. A dominant snail genus was found for each lake, with Middle Pines Lake being dominated by Radix auricularia. Conductivity was the only abiotic factor studied that positively correlated with genera richness (p = 0.035).