No abstract

The giant garden slug Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758 (Limacidae, Pulmonata) is considered one of the most widely spread terrestrial molluscs in the world and is a formidable pest of agricultural and horticultural crops. This slug was recently introduced to Japan, where its population is now rapidly increasing and spreading. A naturalised population of L. maximus was first discovered in Hokkaido, Japan, in 2012 in the isolated natural forest of Maruyama Forest Park in Sapporo City, and the species has become common in this area. In the present study, we investigated observations of L. maximus reported by ordinary citizens acting as "citizen scientists" to assess the recent expansion of this invasive slug. We posted an announcement in the local newspaper requesting reports of the occurrence of L. maximus via e-mail and analysed 38 observations provided by local citizens. As a result of these reports, 16 naturalised populations of L. maximus were detected in Hokkaido, several of which were quite far from the original population in Sapporo City. Moreover, a terrestrial macrophagous leech, Orobdella kawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975 (Arhynchobdellida, Orobdellidae), is reported as a potential native predator of L. maximus for the first time.

Herbivory is considered an important biotic interaction in mangroves. Nevertheless, detailed information on specific plant–herbivore interactions that might have considerable influence in ecological and evolutionary processes is still very poor and fragmented. Herbivory damage was quantified during December 2015 in seedlings and trees in monospecific stands of Avicennia germinans in Laguna Madre of Tamaulipas, Mexico. The use of this mangrove species as a larval host is well documented; however, this is the first report for Junonia litoralis. These lepidopteran larvae consumed, on average, 10.2% of the leaf area; but herbivory was higher on seedlings (mean 15%) than on trees (mean 2.3%). These values are comparable to estimations of 10% mean herbivory damage in other field studies. This indicates that herbivores cause greater damage in seedlings than in trees. Herbivore activity by J. litoralis only occurred in A. germinans and did not affect associated herbs or shrubs of other species. The close interaction between J. litoralis and A. germinans may have profound implications for ecological and evolutionary processes of mangroves and enables a better understanding of ecosystem function and its conservation. Further studies are needed to investigate such interactions and their implications including long‐term monitoring of interstitial salinity and leaf chemistry at different stages of growth and maturity of the host species.

Ecological restoration activities with the participation of the fisherman community in a natural protected area, and the government and academic support have established the possibility to provide an ecosystem functional that benefit to the population and also allow the sustainable decision-making to management natural resources at the present and immediate future. In addition, and another sense, is promote the productivity of its artisanal fisheries, in this case is evident that the volumes of shrimp and crab catch from different years were correlated with the dates scheduled for reforestation activities, showing that productivity increases were better over time.