Spatial and Temporal Relationships Between the Invasive Snail Bithynia tentaculata and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River

Bithynia tentaculata is an invasive snail that was first reported in Lake Michigan in 1871 and has since spread throughout a number of freshwater systems of the USA. This invasion has been extremely problematic in the Upper Mississippi River as the snails serve as intermediate hosts for several trem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRiver research and applications Vol. 33; no. 5; pp. 729 - 739
Main Authors Weeks, A. M., De Jager, N. R., Haro, R. J., Sandland, G. J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bognor Regis Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2017
Subjects
Abundance
Aquatic plants
Bithynia tentaculata
Composition
Disease transmission
Diseases
Distribution
Extreme values
Food
Food resources
Foods
Freshwater
Habitats
Hosts
Inland water environment
invasive species
Lakes
Macrophytes
Mortality
Nesting
Parasites
Resources
Risk assessment
Snails
Spatial analysis
spatial autocorrelation
Spatial distribution
Temporal variations
trematodes
Upper Mississippi River
Vegetation
Waterfowl
waterfowl disease
United States > US
Lake Michigan
Mississippi River
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Summary:Bithynia tentaculata is an invasive snail that was first reported in Lake Michigan in 1871 and has since spread throughout a number of freshwater systems of the USA. This invasion has been extremely problematic in the Upper Mississippi River as the snails serve as intermediate hosts for several trematode parasites that have been associated with waterfowl mortality in the region. This study was designed to assess the abundance and distribution of B. tentaculata relative to submersed aquatic vegetation as macrophytes provide important nesting and food resources for migrating waterfowl. Temporal changes in both vegetation and snail densities were compared between 2007 and 2015. Between these years, B. tentaculata densities have nearly quadrupled despite minor changes in vegetation abundance, distribution and composition. Understanding the spatial distribution of B. tentaculata in relation to other habitat features, including submersed vegetation, and quantifying any further changes in the abundance and distribution of B. tentaculata over time will be important for better identifying areas of risk for disease transmission to waterfowl. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1535-1459
1535-1467
DOI:10.1002/rra.3123