North Temperate Lakes LTER: Snail Survey in Northern Wisconsin Lakes 2006

The Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) is a large invasive gastropod that achieves high densities in waters across North America, yet little is known about its ecological significance in invaded systems. We surveyed 44 lakes to describe the patterns and determinants of B. chinensis distributions in northern Wisconsin, U.S.A., and to assess the likelihood of effects on native snail communities in the invaded systems. B. chinensis was widespread among surveyed lakes (21 of 42 lakes with snails) and its occurrence was correlated with indicators of lake productivity and anthropogenic dispersal vectors (boat landings, distance to population centers, shoreline housing density). Some native snail species tended not to occur at sites where B. chinensis was abundant; among these was Lymnaea stagnalis, which suffered reduced survival in the presence of B. chinensis in a recently published mesocosm study. However, there was no difference in overall snail assemblage structure at either the site or lake level as a function of B. chinensis presence or abundance. Lake occurrences of many snail species have apparently been lost over time, but a comparison to a 1930's survey showed that there was no increased likelihood of species loss in lakes invaded by B. chinensis (or by the invasive crayfish Orconectes rusticus). Although B. chinensis is widespread and sometimes abundant in northern Wisconsin lakes, it does not appear to have strong systematic impacts on native snail assemblages. Solomon, C.T., J.D.Olden, P.T. J. Johnson, R.T. Dillon Jr., and M. Jake Vander Zanden. 2010. Distribution and community-level effects of the Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) in northern Wisconsin lakes. Biological Invasions 12:1591–1605. Number of sites: Sites surveyed within 44 lakes. Sampling Frequency: Each lake surveyed once in summer of 2006中国圆田螺（Bellamya chinensis）是一种大型入侵性腹足类软体动物，可在北美水域形成高密度种群，但目前对其在入侵生态系统中的生态意义所知甚少。本研究对44处湖泊开展调查，旨在明确美国威斯康星州北部中国圆田螺的分布格局及其影响因子，并评估其对入侵系统中原生螺类群落造成影响的可能性。中国圆田螺在本次调查的湖泊中分布广泛（42个存在螺类的湖泊中，有21个检出该物种），其出现与否与湖泊生产力指标及人为传播媒介（船舶停靠点、距人口聚居区的距离、沿岸住宅密度）显著相关。部分原生螺类在高密度中国圆田螺栖息的点位鲜有出现，其中包括静水椎实螺（Lymnaea stagnalis）——一项近期发表的中型实验生态系统研究显示，该物种在有中国圆田螺存在时存活率会显著下降。然而，无论在点位还是湖泊尺度上，螺类群落整体结构均未因中国圆田螺的存在与否或种群密度产生显著差异。尽管许多螺类物种的湖泊分布记录随时间推移出现丢失，但与1930年代的调查数据对比后发现，被中国圆田螺（或入侵性螯虾锈色螯虾（Orconectes rusticus））入侵的湖泊中，物种丧失的概率并未升高。尽管中国圆田螺在威斯康星州北部湖泊中分布广泛且局部种群密度较高，但其似乎并未对原生螺类群落造成显著的系统性影响。该研究由Solomon, C.T.、J.D. Olden、P.T.J. Johnson、R.T. Dillon Jr.及M. Jake Vander Zanden完成，2010年发表于《生物入侵（Biological Invasions）》第12卷，页码范围为1591–1605，文章标题为《威斯康星州北部湖泊中中国圆田螺（Bellamya chinensis）的分布及其对群落的影响》。采样点位：在44个湖泊范围内布设的调查点位。采样频率：所有湖泊均仅在2006年夏季开展1次调查。