Morphometry giant African snail Achatina fulica (Gastropoda : Achatinidae ) in Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v7i2.1155Keywords:
Giant African snail, growth, allometry, ontogeny, morphometrics.Abstract
The giant African snail is currently one of the most aggressive and invasive species that has colonized many countries outside its natural environment. We recorded four shell measures and the weight of 3 157 individuals of Achatina fulica collected in Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Meta, Norte de Santander and Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Larger and heavier individuals were collected in the Meta and Boyacá departments while the highest density per square meter was recorded in Cundinamarca. We found a strong, positive and highly significant (p<0.01) correlation among measured variables. During development maximum sizes of shell, opening and body weight are correlated, and shell length increases faster than the other measures, leading to a marked elongation of the individuals. The settling time of the populations was also reflected in the size of individuals.References
Albuquerque, F., M. Peso-Aguiar & M. Assunção-Albuquerque. (2008). Distribution, feeding behavior and control strategies of the exotic land snail Achatina fulica (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in the northeast of Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 68: 837–842.
Albuquerque, F., M. Peso-Aguiar, M. Assunção-Albuquerque & L. Gálvez. (2009). Do climate variables and human density affect Achatina fulica (Bowditch) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) shell length, total weight and condition factor? Brazilian Journal of Biology 69: 879–885.
Ani, A., C. Ogbu, C. Elufidipe & L. Ugwuowo. (2013). Growth performance of african giant land snail (Achatina achatina) fed varying dietary protein and energy levels. Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8: 184–190.
Asamoah, S. (1999). Ecology and Status of the giant African snails in the Bia Biosphere Reserve in Ghana. Final Report (September, 1999): Ecological Studies on the Giant African Snails.
Bequaert, J. (1950). Studies in the Achatinidae, a group of African land snails. Bulletin of the Museum Comparative of Zoololgy 105: 1–216.
Van Bruggen, A. (1987). Achatina fulica in Morocco, North Africa. Basteria 51: 66.
Chase, R., R. Croll & L. Zeichner. (1980). Aggregation in snails, Achatina fulica. Behavioral and Neural Biology 30: 218–230.
Correoso, M. (2006). Estrategia preliminar para evaluar y erradicar Achatina fulica (Gastropoda: Achatinaceae) en Ecuador. Boletín Técnico 6, Serie Zoológica 2: 45–52.
Craze, P. & J. Mauremootoo. (2002). A test of methods for estimating population size of the invasive land snail Achatina fulica in dense vegetation. Journal of Applied Ecology 39: 653–660.
Ejidike, B., T. Afolayan & J. Alokun. (2004). Observations on some climatic variables and dietary influence on the performance of cultivated Giant land snail (Archachatina marginata): Notes and records. Parkistan Journal of Nutrition 3: 362–364.
Elkarmi, A. & N. Ismail. (2007). Growth models and shell morphometrics of two populations of Melanoides tuberculata (Thiaridae) living in hot springs and freshwater pools. Journal of Limnology 66: 90–96.
Gutiérrez, D., V. Núñez, R. Vogler & A. Rumi. (2011). Invasion of the Argentinean Paranense Rainforest by the Giant African Snail Achatina fulica. American Malacological Bulletin 29: 135–137.
Linares, E., F. Fernández, V. Castro, J. Avendaño, A. Martínez & A. Rojas. (2013). Invasión del caracol africano (Achatina fulica) y sinopsis de la hormiga arriera (Atta y Acromyrmex) en Colombia. Informe Final. Convenio Interadministrativo no. 57 entre el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible y la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Linares, E. & M. Vera. (2012). Catálogo de los moluscos continentales de Colombia.
Madec, L. & A. Bellido. 2007. Spatial variation of shell morphometrics in the subantarctic land snail Notodiscus hookeri from Crozet and Kerguelen Islands. Polar Biology 30: 1571–1578.
Martínez, R. & E. Martínez. (1997). Nota acerca de la Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica (Bowdich, 1822) peligroso caracol africano (Pulmonada – Achatinidae) introducido en Venezuela. Acta Biológica Venezuelana 17: 37–40.
Mead, A. (1961). The giant african snail: a problem in economic malacology. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
Mead, A. (1981). The giant african snail enter the commercial field. Malacologia 22: 489–493.
Mogbo, T., O. Nwankwo & I. Nwuzor. (2014). Growth Performance of Snails (Achatina Fulica) Fed with Three Different Leaf Materials. American Journal of Biology and Life Sciences 2: 96–99.
Naim, S. & A. Elkarmi. (2006). Age, Growth and Shell Morphometrics of the Gastropod Monodonta dama (Neritidae:Prosobranchia) from the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 9: 843–847.
Numazawa, K., S. Koyano, N. Takeda & H. Takayanagi. (1988). Distribution and Abundance of the Giant African Snail, Achatina fulica Ferussac (Pulmonata: Achatinidae), in two islands, Chichijima and Hahajima, of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. Japanese Journal of Applied Entomology & Zoology 32: 176–181.
Okon, B. & L. Ibom. (2011). Phenotypic Correlation and Body weights Prediction using Morphometric Traits of Snails in Calabar, Nigeria. The Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management 4: 7–11.
Okon, B., L. Ibom, H. Ettah & U. Udoh. (2012). Comparative Differentiation of Morphometric Traits and Body Weight Prediction of Giant African Land Snails with Four Whorls in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Science 4: 205–2011.
Okon, B., L. Ibom, N. Etuk & E. Akpan. (2008). Variations in Growth Patterns and Conformation of Snails: Influence of Strain and Location on Isometry of Growth in Cross River State of Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences 6: 218–227.
Okon, B., L. Ibom, M. Williams & N. Akwa. (2010). Parity Effects on Breeding and Morphometric Traits of Eggs and Hatchlings of Purebred Albino Snails [Archachatina marginata (Swainson)]. Journal of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Ecology 3: 44–54.
Okon, B., L. Ibom, M. Williams & O. Etukudo. (2010). Effects of Parity on Breeding and Morphometric Traits of Eggs and Hatchlings of F1 Crossbred of Snails (Archachatina marginata var. saturalis). Journal of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Ecology 3: 36–43.
Raut, S. & G. Barker. (2002). Achatina fulica Bowdich and other Achatinidae as pests in tropical agriculture, p. 55 – 114. In G. Barker (ed.). Molluscs as Crop Pests. CABI Publishing, London.
Rohlf, F. (1990). Applications of geometric morphometrics to studies of ontogeny and phylogen. Systematic Biology 47: 147–158.
Samadi, S., A. Roumégoux, M. Bargues, S. Mas-Coma, M. Yong & J. Pointier. (2000). Morphological studies of lymnaeid snails from the human fascioliasis endemic zone of Bolivia. Journal of Molluscan Studies 66: 31–34.
Simão, S. & L. Fischer. (2004). Estimativa e inferências do método de controle do molusco exótico Achatina fulica BOWDICH 1822 (STYLOMMATOPHORA; ACHATINIDAE) em Pontal do Paraná, Litoral do Estado do Paraná. Cadernos da Biodiversidade 4: 74–82.
Teles, H., J. Vaz, L. Fontes & M. Domingos. (1997). Registro de Achatina fulica Bowdich 1822 (Mollusca: Gastropoda) no Brasil: caramujo hospedeiro intermediário de angiostrongilíase. Revista de Saúde Pública 31: 310–312.
Tomiyama, K. (1992). Homing behaviour of the giant african snail Achatina fulica (Ferussac) (Gastropoda; Pulmonata). Journal of Ethology 10: 139–147.
Tomiyama, K. (1993). Growth and maturation pattern in the African giant snail, Achatina fulica (Ferussac) (Stylommatophora: Achatinidae). Venus 52: 87–100.
De Winter, A. (1989). New records of Achatina fulica Bowdich from the Côte d’Ivoire. Basteria 53: 71–72.
Yousif, M. (2012). Warped Ideas: Geometric morphometrics as a complementary technique for studying gastropod shell morphology. Tesis de maestría, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canadá
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Note: This abstract contains an incorrect copyright due to technical issues. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
All journal contents are freely available through a CC BY 4.0 license.
CC BY 4.0 is a Creative Commons: you can copy, modify, distribute, and perform, even for commercial reasons, without asking permission, if you give appropriate credit.
Contents can be reproduced if the source and copyright are acknowledged according to the Open Access license CC BY 4.0. Self-storage in preprint servers and repositories is allowed for all versions. We encourage authors to publish raw data and data logs in public repositories and to include the links with all drafts so that reviewers and readers can consult them at any time.
The journal is financed by public funds via Universidad Estatal a Distancia and editorial independence and ethical compliance are guaranteed by the Board of Editors, UNED. We do not publish paid ads or receive funds from companies.