Abstract Title
Ecological Correlates of Land Snails from the Lower Salmon River
Abstract
Land snails are considered to be excellent ecological indicators for assessing ecosystem health and long term viability. In the last 50 years, the lower Salmon River drainage has undergone extensive human settlement and development which may disturb ecosystem processes and extirpate highly endemic species. As this area contains some of the most diverse land snail assemblages in North America, the relative distribution and abundance of these endemic mollusks may serve as a window to view the influence of anthropogenic effects on the native fauna across the ecosystem. I propose to evaluate the suitability of these land snails as ecological indicator species by examining their underlying ecological correlates (plant associations, water availability, and rock type) as well as their resilience to human settlement based on past and recent surveys conducted within the last 50 years.
Ecological Correlates of Land Snails from the Lower Salmon River
Land snails are considered to be excellent ecological indicators for assessing ecosystem health and long term viability. In the last 50 years, the lower Salmon River drainage has undergone extensive human settlement and development which may disturb ecosystem processes and extirpate highly endemic species. As this area contains some of the most diverse land snail assemblages in North America, the relative distribution and abundance of these endemic mollusks may serve as a window to view the influence of anthropogenic effects on the native fauna across the ecosystem. I propose to evaluate the suitability of these land snails as ecological indicator species by examining their underlying ecological correlates (plant associations, water availability, and rock type) as well as their resilience to human settlement based on past and recent surveys conducted within the last 50 years.