Blown with the wind — the role of wind in passive dispersion of two land snails: Vertigo moulinsiana and Vertigo antivertigo

In this study, we tested the role of the wind in passive dispersal modes of two species of land snails: Vertigo moulinsiana (Dupuy, 1849) and Vertigo antivertigo (Draparnaud, 1801). We conducted experiments under controlled, laboratory conditions, exposing both active and inactive adult snails attached to the leaves of sedges to wind. The results presented herein prove that the wind force had a significant impact on the studied species, successfully detaching both active and inactive individuals from leaves. During the 30 min treatment, gusts detached over 20% of all individuals of the studied species. However, individuals of V. moulinsiana were carried farther than V. antivertigo.
Source: Canadian Journal of Zoology - Category: Zoology Authors: Source Type: research