shoestring2014 4-snails

Looking for Snails in

Three MELNHE Stands

STEPHANIE SUTTENBERG

SUNY ESF ‘17

SHOESTRING CREW

Background

Snails are found in leaf litter (Oi layer)

Need to be damp

Snails need Ca (Skeldon et al 2007)

Watershed 1

Increase numbers

Not useable

Little research on N and P

Low phosphorus, lower growth (Krist 2014)

High nitrogen, higher snail population (Stuart A. 2014)

Hypotheses

More in N plots compared to control

More in P plots compared to control

More in Ca compared to control

More in N&P plot than N, P and control

Methods

Cardboards placed in C6, C8, JBO and JBM

Selected for Ca

Two 8.5x11in cardboard sheets are laid out in each

outer point

>.25 inch rain event

top layers of leaf litter are dry

One plot

Collection Methods

Check underside of cardboard for

snails

Snails collected in pre-labeled vials

Randomized complete block design

ANOVA

Future collections

Collection Methods

Check underside of cardboard for

snails

Snails collected in pre-labeled vials

Randomized complete block design

ANOVA

Future collections

Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca

C6 C8 JBO

Nu

mb

er o

f Sn

ails

Total Snails Collected in Fertilizer Plots

Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca

C6 C8 JBO

Nu

mb

er o

f Sn

ails

Total Snails Collected in Fertilizer Plots • Compared to

Control

• N – Always

lower

Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca

C6 C8 JBO

Nu

mb

er o

f Sn

ails

Total Snails Collected in Fertilizer Plots • Compared to

Control

• N – Always

lower

• P- lower in C6

and C8

Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca

C6 C8 JBO

Nu

mb

er o

f Sn

ails

Total Snails Collected in Fertilizer Plots • Compared to

Control

• N – Always

lower

• P- lower in C6

and C8

• N&P- Always

lower

Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca C N P

N&

P Ca

C6 C8 JBO

Nu

mb

er o

f Sn

ails

Total Snails Collected in Fertilizer Plots • Compared to

Control

• N – Always

lower

• P- lower in C6

and C8

• N&P- Always

lower

• Ca – higher in

JBO

N and P decreased snail

abundance

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

C N P N&P Ca

Nu

mb

er

of

Sn

ails

Treatment

a

a b

c c

b

c

LS Means Blocked by Stand

Discussion

Hypotheses Outcome

NP

N&PCa

Discussion

Average of 3.4 snails/m^2

7.6 snails/m^2 (Skeldon et al

2014)

Leaf litter too damp?

Two phase model for N

Initial die off, but then favor snail reproduction

and survival (Stuart 2014)

Recently fertilized (June)

Future Research

More collections this summer

Taxa of individuals will be determined

Different forest types – not just northern

hardwood

Seasonal change

Varying levels of leaf litter dryness

Citations

Krist, Amy C., Adam D. Kay, Katelyn Larkin,

Maurine Neiman. 2014. Response to Phosphorus

Limitation Varies among Lake Populations of the Freshwater Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum

Skeldon, M. et al 2007. Terrestrial gastropod

response to an ecosystem-level calcium

manipulation in a northern hardwood forest.

Stuart, A., & Palenzuela, N. 2014 Effects of fertilizer

applications on survival and recruitment of the

apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata(Lamarck). Crop Protection.

Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank Eli, Jerome, Nora and Abby for

setting out cardboards

Adam and Ruth for much needed advice in layouts, stats and methods

Eli, Lisa, Adam, Sophie and Justin for collecting

snails

Matt Vadeboncoeur and Cheryl Bondi for helping

with methods