Distribution and the origin of invasive apple snails, Pomacea canaliculata and P. maculata (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae) in China

Qian-Qian Yang,Chao He,Xiao-Ping Yu,Su-Wen Liu

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-19000-7

Abstract

Species of Pomacea, commonly known as apple snails, are native to South America, and have become widely distributed agricultural and environmental pests in southern China since their introduction in the 1980s. However, only since 2010 have researchers recognized that at least two species, P. canaliculata and P. maculata, are present in China. Although impacts of apple snails have been extensively documented, confusion still persists regarding current distributions and origin of the species in China. To resolve this confusion, we used phylogenetic and phylogeographic methods to analyze 1464 mitochondrial COI sequences, including 349 new sequences from samples collected in southern China and 1115 publicly available sequences from snails collected in the native and introduced ranges. Pomacea canaliculata was found at all sampled localities, while P. maculata was found at only five sampled localities in the Sichuan basin and Zhejiang province. Our data indicate that Chinese populations of P. canaliculata share an Argentinian origin, consistent with multiple introductions of this species elsewhere in Asia. In addition, just a single lineage ofP. maculata is established in China, which shares with populations in Brazil.

Highlights

Apple snails (Ampullariidae), are freshwater gastropods native to South America[1], and several species in the genus Pomacea have been introduced and become established in many parts of the world including other Asian countries, North America, islands of the Pacific, and Europe[2,3]
Many other alien apple snail species were difficult to differentiate from P. canaliculata and P. maculata, which were frequently misidentified as these two species[3,15,16]
Of the 1464 c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, 1226 were recovered in a clade identified as P. canaliculata, and the remaining 238 sequences were P. maculata (Fig. S1)

Summary

Introduction

Apple snails (Ampullariidae), are freshwater gastropods native to South America[1], and several species in the genus Pomacea have been introduced and become established in many parts of the world including other Asian countries, North America, islands of the Pacific, and Europe[2,3]. They have a voracious appetite[4,5], reproduce rapidly[6], are resistant to desiccation during dry down periods[7], and act as vectors of zoonotic diseases[8], all of which have made them serious agricultural[9], environmental[1], and potential human health pests[10]. Hayes et al provided clear anatomical and biogeographic data for delineating between these two previously conflated species[14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion