Body Size, Aerial Dispersal, and Origin of the Pacific Land Snail Fauna

Vagvolgyi, Joseph

doi:10.1093/sysbio/24.4.465

Cited by 63 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…From its geomorphological context and from available U-Th dates, it seems likely that this cave was formed by marine processes during a late Middle Pleistocene interglacial period (Blake 1995 of a minimum of 18 species, plus one semi-terrestrial pulmonate (Melampus £avus). Like many indigenous land snails on Paci¢c islands, most of these species are small (less than 4 mm), a feature that aids natural dispersal to remote islands by aerial means (Vagvolgyi 1976;Preece 1998). The fauna does, however, include two species of Philonesia which exceed 8 mm in breadth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of early Polynesian occupation on the land snail fauna of Henderson Island, Pitcairn group (South Pacific)

Preece

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Henderson Island, an uninhabited raised coral atoll in the Pitcairn group, has recently been designated a World Heritage Site because of its unique and relatively undisturbed ecosystem. The island is believed to have been uplifted and subaerially exposed during the last 275 kyr. This therefore provides the maximum age for the terrestrial biota that includes several endemic taxa. Henderson today supports 16 strictly terrestrial species of snails, about half of which are endemic. Analyses of sediments beneath Polynesian occupation horizons dated between the 11th and 17th centuries AD, have yielded 11 species of land snail present in the modern fauna, together with at least six (and possibly as many as eight) further species that no longer occur on the island. These extinct taxa are illustrated and formal descriptions provided for five ( Pleuropoma hendersoni , Orobophana carinacosta , Minidonta macromphalus , Philonesia pyramidalis , P. weisleri ); a sixth, known only from broken shells, appears to belong to the genus Hiona . The two remaining taxa are ‘tornatellinids’ that have not been recognized among the modern fauna. Radiocarbon dates from bones of associated extinct land birds confirm their occurrence on Henderson before the first signs of Polynesian settlement. The extinction of these taxa seems to coincide with the Polynesian occupation and evidence for large-scale burning, at least around parts of the plateau margin, suggests that their demise can be linked with habitat destruction. At least three species, Gastrocopta pediculus , Lamellidea oblonga and Pupisoma orcula , first appear in Polynesian occupation horizons. Their status as prehistoric introductions is therefore confirmed but G. pediculus no longer lives on Henderson. Pacificella variabilis , Tornatellides oblongus parvulus and Elasmias sp., all previously thought to have been other prehistoric introductions to Henderson, were recovered from pre-Polynesian levels and are therefore native.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of early Polynesian occupation on the land snail fauna of Henderson Island, Pitcairn group (South Pacific)

Preece

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…In contrast to our results, they found that larger species are more dispersal limited. This could be attributable to the fact that they mostly used data on passive dispersers, where the relationship between the size and dispersal ability is generally considered to be the opposite of the one seen in active dispersers (Vagvolgyi 1975;Shurin et al 2009). In our case, the interspecific differences (relative positions of the species and hence the direction of the relationships in Fig.…”

Section: Species Turnover and The Role Of Body Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Metacommunity dynamics of amphibians in years with differing rainfall

Péntek

Vad

Zsuga³

et al. 2016

Aquat Ecol

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Many studies investigated the habitat preference and behaviour ecology of individual amphibian species while we know less about how their community assembly reflects changes in environmental factors, including the role of climatic extremes. Communitylevel studies also allow us to apply trait-based analyses that are crucial for a better understanding of the functioning of amphibian communities and metacommunities. In two years with contrasting rainfall (2012 and 2013), we found amphibian species in 85 different waterbodies of a heterogeneous landscape in Central Europe (Hungary). Within the metacommunity framework, the contributions of local, landscape and spatial variables to community assembly were assessed. We also measured the local extinction-colonisation rates in the ponds for all species between the two years. To investigate the role of dispersal traits in explaining the spatial distribution of species, we studied the relationship between body size and the pure spatial fraction of variation. According to our results, the main drivers were the same in both the dry and wet year, but their relative contribution changed. Local variables played a predominant role in the assembly of the amphibian metacommunity. Spatial signals were more evident in the dry year. This implies not only the adverse effect of decreased connectivity due to the drying out of several habitats but also a loss of breeding sites for the studied amphibians. Local colonisation rates were higher in primarily terrestrial species (Hyla arborea, Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo) which only visit ponds during breeding. We found a negative relationship between the pure spatial effect and body size, suggesting an increased level of dispersal limitation in small-bodied species. Our results showed that while the strength and relative role of local and spatial processes changed between years, the role of dispersal traits in explaining the spatial distribution of species was similar. Specialisation to different habitats seems to be a major process in determining vertebrate metacommunities in landscapes. Dispersal traits of different species should be taken more into consideration in the practical conservation of amphibian habitats.

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“…resistance to desiccation, tolerance of salt water, habits or habitat preferences; an arboreal species may be more likely to be transported by wind storms than a ground-living or burrowing species)) or extrinsic factors (prevailing winds, presence of suitable dispersal agents etc.). Land snails have no intrinsic means of long-distance dispersal, although small-sized species, in particular, may be dispersed aerially during major storms, accidentally carried by birds (Rees 1965;Vagvolgyi 1975;Kirchner et al 1997) or rafted on floating vegetation. Successful long distance passive dispersal for most taxa is rare, especially once communities are established (Ward and Thornton 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships of Placostylus from Lord Howe Island: an investigation using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene

Ponder¹,

Colgan²,

Gleeson³

et al. 2003

Molluscan Res.

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Large (5-9 cm in length) land snails of the genus Placostylus are found in New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, northern New Zealand, the Three Kings Islands just north of New Zealand and on Lord Howe Island. Their presence on Lord Howe, an oceanic island less than 6 million years old, has been an intriguing biogeographical question. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data suggest that the Lord Howe Island and mainland New Zealand taxa are sisters, but that the Three Kings taxon is independently derived, possibly from New Caledonian stock. Placostylus colonies throughout the area of the present study are under considerable threat, with many intraspecific forms and some species threatened and some listed as endangered species. The taxonomic and conservation status of the Lord Howe Island populations are discussed.

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Body Size, Aerial Dispersal, and Origin of the Pacific Land Snail Fauna

Cited by 63 publications

References 38 publications

Impact of early Polynesian occupation on the land snail fauna of Henderson Island, Pitcairn group (South Pacific)

Impact of early Polynesian occupation on the land snail fauna of Henderson Island, Pitcairn group (South Pacific)

Metacommunity dynamics of amphibians in years with differing rainfall

Relationships of Placostylus from Lord Howe Island: an investigation using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene

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