Snails Salt marsh periwinkle,

Littoraria irrorata sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk Found in salt marshes

on Atlantic Coast Occur at high densities

100 ind/m2

Snail Parts

Fungal Farming At low tide eat

organic matter on sediment surface

At high tide climb Spartina and feed on fungi

U. S. Geological Survey. Photographer Ellen Raabe

Mechanics Snails create wounds (radulations)

in Spartina leaves

Silliman and Newell 2003

Mechanics Feed on infected

leaf material Fertilize fungi

with feces

Silliman and Newell 2003

Mechanics

Predators The squareback

marsh crab Atlantic mud crab Blue crab large fishes, birds

and mammals