Darren Johnson
Sergio Merino
Jacoby Carter
2018
<p><i>Pomacea maculata</i><span> (Perry) (Giant Apple Snail) is a freshwater snail native to South America (</span>Hayes et al. 2015<span>) that is an invasive species in the freshwater wetlands and waterways of the northern Gulf of Mexico, peninsular Florida (</span>Benson 2017<span>, </span>Burks 2017<span>) and globally (</span>Hayes et al. 2015<span>). Karraker and Dudgeon (</span>2014<span>) found that </span><i>Pomacea canaliculata</i><span> (Lamarck) (Channeled Apple Snail) opportunistically ate frog eggs. The Giant Apple Snail is a sister species to the Channeled Apple Snail and shares similar life-history attributes (</span>Hayes et al. 2015<span>). However, the literature indicates that Giant Apple Snail is presumed to be an herbivore (e.g., </span>Burke et al. 2017<span>, </span>Burlakova et al. 2009<span>). Will Giant Apple Snail eat amphibian eggs? If they do, they could have a negative impact on anuran populations throughout their introduced range. In this study, we presented Giant Apple Snails with frog and toad eggs to determine if they would eat them.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1656/058.017.0313
en
Eagle Hill Institute
Exotic invasive Pomacea maculata (Giant Apple Snail) will depredate eggs of frog and toad species of the Southeastern US
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