The Influence of Pesticides on the Biology and Physiology of the Land Snail Bulimulus tenuissimus (Orbigny, 1935)

Abstract

Some terrestrial gastropods are agricultural pests and are exposed to toxic products capable of causing physiological and biological alterations. The action of some herbicides and molluscicides has been studied on freshwater snails, but there are few studies of terrestrial species. This study analyzed the biological and physiological responses of Bulimulus tenuissimus exposed to the natural molluscicidal latex of Euphorbia milii var. hislopii and the synthetic herbicide Roundup® Original. A total of 210 snails were divided and exposed for 24 hours to the products (latex or herbicide in concentrations of 1,000 ppm and 100,000 ppm) and type 2 water. Of this total, 150 exposed animals were analyzed biochemically after 24 hours, and the others were observed during 30 days for analysis of the mortality rate. After 24 hours, some snails presented escape mechanisms such as epiphragm formation, cephalopedal mass retraction and burial. The latex did not cause metabolic alterations but the herbicide altered the carbohydrate metabolism of B. tenuissimus, reducing energy substrates in the sites analyzed (hemolymph, digestive gland and cephalopedal mass). Regarding the protein metabolism, there was no alteration after exposure to both analyzed substances. After 30 days of exposure, higher mortality was recorded for the groups exposed to the herbicide. These findings suggest that B. tenuissimus is resistant to the molluscicidal latex of Euphorbia milii var. hislopii more than the herbicide Roundup® Original.

Ecology and management of the invasive land snail Bulimulus bonariensis (Rafinesque, 1833) (Stylommatophora: Bulimulidae) in row crops

“…As described for other mollusks, the success of the snails in colonizing new areas may be related to high adaptability to a disturbed agricultural environment ( 1 , 19 ), stimulatory effects by increased fertilizer application ( 20 ), and lack of natural enemies ( 1 , 3 ). Intrinsic characteristics of the species might pose relevant contributions to its success, such as advanced defense mechanisms against stress (i.e., epiphragm formation) ( 21 ), high reproductive capacity ( 11 , 16 , 22 ), and low diet specificity ( 15 ).…”

“…The limited understanding of B. bonariensis ecology and the lack of validated management tools are critical limitations in regions with high densities of this species in row crops. Few active ingredients are available for snail management, and some formulations are not labelled against B. bonariensis or to be used in row crops ( 3 , 21 ). Existing management strategies for snails mostly rely on chemical molluscicide pellets, containing either metaldehyde or iron (ferric) phosphate ( 21 , 23 ).…”

“…Few active ingredients are available for snail management, and some formulations are not labelled against B. bonariensis or to be used in row crops ( 3 , 21 ). Existing management strategies for snails mostly rely on chemical molluscicide pellets, containing either metaldehyde or iron (ferric) phosphate ( 21 , 23 ). However, besides their high cost when used in large areas with row crops, there have been concerns over metaldehyde due to its impact on nontarget organisms and water systems ( 24 – 26 ).…”

Reproductive alterations of Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen, 1935) and exposed to Euphorbia milii var. hislopii latex

“…Infection can cause partial or total disruption of oviposition and egg hatching, in addition to biochemical and histopathological changes, leading to a reduction in the population of infected snails (Faro et al, 2013;Guerino et al, 2017). Regarding infection, these effects have been studied in models such as Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) infected by Schistosoma mansoni (Sambon, 1907) (Minchella and Loverde, 1981;Vasconcellos and Schall, 1986;Lima, 2010;Faro et al, 2013;Alberto-Silva et al, 2015); B. glabrata infected by Echinostoma paraensei Lie andBasch, 1967 (Tunholi et al, 2011), B. glabrata co-infected by E. paraensei and Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen, 1935) (Bonfim et al, 2014;Garcia, 2014); B. glabrata infected by A. cantonensis (Tunholi-Alves et al, 2011); Biomphalaria straminea (Dunker, 1848) and Biomphalaria tenagophila (D'Orbigny, 1835) infected by A. cantonensis (Lima et al, 2017) and Bulimulus tenuissimus (D'Orbigny, 1935) infected by Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Martins et al, 2019).…”

“…The phytochemical latex of Euphorbia milii var. hislopii has been studied for its schistosomostatic (Augusto et al, 2017) and molluscicidal properties related to survival and reproductive parameters of snails such as Achatina fulica (Ferussac, 1821) (Crignis et al, 2012), Leptinaria unilamellata D'Orbigny, 1835 (Afonso-Neto et al, 2010), Bulimulus tenuissimus (D'Orbigny, 1935) (Patrício et al, 2019), Lymnaea columella (Say, 1817) Amorim, 2003) andB. glabrata (Mello-Silva et al, 2007;Lima, 2010;Alberto-Silva et al, 2020).…”