Study on the behaviour of dormancy breaking in Cathaica fasciola (Draparnaud 1801) (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)

Abstract

The brabybaenid land snail, Cathaica fasciola (Draparnaud, 1801) is widely distributed in China and causes significant damage to economic crops but there have been few ecological studies on this pest species. In the present study, the effects of availability of moisture and its interaction with live weight of dormant C. fasciola were examined in the laboratory for effects on the length of time that snails required to resume activity. Snail live weight increased with availability of water during transition of dormancy to activity. The amount of water uptake required to break dormancy, proportional to snail live weight, was less for larger snails than for smaller snails. The duration of dormancy breaking was much longer at a water temperature of 5 °C than at 10–30 °C. These results are discussed in relation to prospects for control of C. fasciola in crops by manipulating dormancy.

Keywords:

• body weight
• pest species
• water depth
• water temperature

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30971938, 31272099), by grants from the scientific research training program for Beijing undergraduates (PXM2012_014207_000043) and the innovative team building project of melon-watermelon in Beijing modern agricultural industrial and technological system (PXM2013–014207–000103), from the Funding Project for Academic Human Resources Development in Institutions of Higher Learning Under the Jurisdiction of Beijing Municipality (PHR201107135), and the Science and Technology Fund of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (KZ201210020019). Thanks are given to Zhang Guo-qiong, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academic of Sciences, for providing help in identification of the snails, and to Gary Barker and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.