PREDICTIVE MODEL FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE INVASING SNAIL Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica IN SERGIPE, NORTHEAST BRAZIL, BASED ON SOIL AND CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS

We are submitting the revised manuscript intitled “Predictive model for the presence of the invasing snail Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica in Sergipe, Northeast Brazil, based on soil and climate characteristics” by Guilherme M. Silva, Silvana C. Thiengo, Alef N. Menezes, Cláudia M. Melo and Verônica L. S. Jeraldo, for publication as an original article in the Biota Neotropica. In this manuscript, we investigate the invasive giant African snail A. fulica in eight subregions of Sergipe, Brazil, Northern Brazil describing a predictive mathematical model based on its presence, climatic variables, and the physicochemical parameters of the soil. This is also the first ecological study of A. fulica where body mass-length relationship and relative condition factor are analyzed, in the context of climatic variables and the chemical parameters of the soil, in order to determine the development patterns and wellbeing of this snail in Brazil. These findings provide fundamental guidelines for the development and improvement of measures for the control of A. fulica populations, contributing to both human, veterinary and environment health.