Potential spreading risk of an invasive snail species (Pomacea canaliculata) in freshwater habitats of Asia

Abstract

The invasive success of the freshwater snail species (Pomacea canaliculata) continues to wreak havoc around the world. The present study was initiated to analyse spatial trend and associated environmental conditions related to the invasive success of P. canaliculata in Asia. Systematic searches were performed to identify relevant studies through different databases, and appropriate statistical methods like spatial autocorrelation, standard deviational ellipse method and PCA were used to generate new knowledge on this species. The potential invasive range of this species is between 40°N and 40°S lat. The present study reveals that the spatial distribution of P. canaliculata is most significantly correlated with human population density, followed by humidity, temperature and precipitation. Moreover, the grazing rates are dramatically affected by nutrient content of freshwater macrophytes. Spatial autocorrelation analysis result indicates clustered dispersion pattern of this snail, and standard deviational ellipse depicts the invasion trend of P. canaliculata moving from East Asia to potential areas in South and West Asia. We therefore conclude that P. canaliculata is likely to be the ‘next harmful visitor’ to South and West Asian countries.