학술논문
Ecological invasion of the giant African snail Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) in a semi-arid forest of western India.
Document Type
Article
Source
Subject
*DECIDUOUS forests
*ARID regions
*ANIMAL health
*NATIONAL parks & reserves
*FLAME spread
*BOTANY
*
*
*
*
*
Language
ISSN
2219-0341
Abstract
The giant African snail Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) (also known as Achatina fulica) is indigenous to the coastal region of continental East Africa. It is one of the most invasive ecological pests in the world and threatens native flora, agriculture, human and animal health outside its natural range. While dry and semi-arid climatic regions are supposed to be immune to its invasion, our data show that this is not always the case. Ranthambhore National Park is dry, deciduous forest located in semi-arid part of western India. We have observed the progressive invasion of L. fulica in this fragile landscape since its first introduction in 2010. Subsequently, it has spread over a large area at an alarming rate. We discuss the observations on behaviour and the factors responsible for the rapid spread of L. fulica in the park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]