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Abstract
Attia, J., Blanc, A., Hassnaoui, M., Rehailia, M. and Buisson, B. 1997. Spatial distribution of a population of snails Helix aspersa maxima (Mollusc, Gastropoda) in outdoor rearing parks. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 11: 57–68.
During the growing phase of the commercially reared snails, their population in outdoor parks is determined by the number of individuals per square metre. Weekly or daily counts reveal the spatial distribution of the animals and their displacements in these types of parks. The provision of discrete food-shelters introduces heterogeneity which generates both a good deal of migratory flows and local overcrowdings. In particular, between a quarter and a third of the animals remain in the same resting place from one day to the next, and this is the case for young snails as well as for adults. Food is provided ad libitum but we suspect that there may be a lack of access facilities to food areas and to resting places due to overcrowding. Furthermore, these high local concentrations of snails are sites of high depositions of mucus, the repulsive effect of which has already been established. An increase in the number of food-shelters should reduce heavy traffic flows which generate an undesirable loss of energy under the present rearing conditions.