Use of alimentary resources present in the anthropic environment by the giant African snail Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822: background information for management
Keywords:
Diet, Foraging, Invading species, Paraná, BrazilAbstract
The invader snail Achatina fulica occurs in abundance in the urban area of numerous Brazilian cities. Based on the assumption that the presence of organic and inorganic solid residues supplies substrate for refuge and alimentary resources, thereby contributing to snail proliferation, the present study aimed to evaluate the consumption and the preference of A. fulica for the available resources. The study was conducted at the NEC-PUC-PR (Center for Animal Behavior Studies at the Catholic University of Paraná) between 2002 and 2005, and consisted of six experiments that evaluated consumption in different classes of snail size, the consumption of vegetables, ornamental plants and solid waste, extension of the foraging period and alimentary preference. We verified the difference in consumption according to snail size and the variation in qualitative and quantitative consumption. The extension of the foraging period only occurs with some items of food. The present study witnessed the consumption of solid waste by the giant African snail and this data serves as support for the control actions, since residue management and ecological attitudes will benefit the actions, and help to decrease the resources available for the invading species.
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References
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