Abstract
AbstractThe Florida apple snail (Pomacea paludosa) is a critical food source for the endangered snail kite, as well as other regional wildlife. However, very little information is available on the apple snail’s feeding habits. To address this information gap, Florida apple snail juveniles from Lake Okeechobee, Florida, were grown in 12 indoor aquaria for 32 d. Snails were provided with freshly collected, approximately equal volumes of either a Utricularia sp./periphyton complex, an Eleocharis sp./periphyton complex, or metaphyton (loosely attached benthic algae) as food sources. Snail growth and survival were significantly higher in the Utricularia treatment than in the metaphyton treatment, but no significant differences in growth were noted between either the Utricularia vs Eleocharis or Eleocharis vs metaphyton treatments. Overall, Utricularia had the highest nutritive quality based on its relatively low C:N ratio and ash content, and high P and chlorophyll (chl) concentrations. Eleocharis had a high C...
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