Resaca Supports Range Expansion of Invasive Apple Snails (Pomacea Maculata Perry, 1810; Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas
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University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ScholarWorks @ UTRGV Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations College of Sciences 6-2017 Resaca supports range expansion of invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata Perry, 1810; Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Kathryn E. Perez The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Victoria Garcia Gamboa The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Caitlin M. Schneider Romi L. Burks Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/bio_fac Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Perez K, Schneider C, Garcia Gamboa V, Burks R (2017) Resaca supports range expansion of invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata Perry, 1810; Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Check List 13(3): 2134. https://doi.org/10.15560/13.3.2134 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Sciences at ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 13 3 the journal of 2134 biodiversity data 3 June 2017 Check List NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION Check List 13(3): 2134, 3 June 2017 https://doi.org/10.15560/13.3.2134 ISSN 1809-127X © 2017 Check List and Authors Resaca supports range expansion of invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata Perry, 1810; Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Kathryn E. Perez,1, 4 Victoria Garcia Gamboa,1 Caitlin M. Schneider,2 & Romi L. Burks2, 3 1 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Department of Biology, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX, USA 78501 2 Southwestern University, Environmental Studies Program, 1001 East University Avenue, Georgetown, TX, USA 78626 3 Southwestern University, Department of Biology, 1001 East University Avenue, Georgetown, TX, USA 78626 4 Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Resacas, or oxbow lakes, form from old river chan- Geological Survey 2016) as the highly fecund snails quickly nels. In the Rio Grande, resacas provide habitat for diverse reproduce (Barnes et al. 2008) and spread to novel habitats. wildlife, including native and non-native species. Biologists However, prior to our study, no records of established apple unexpectedly found pink egg masses on emergent vegetation snail populations existed from the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), (November 2015) and later adult apple snails (May 2016) the southernmost area of Texas, which lies along the northern within a resaca at a former fish hatchery in Brownsville, Texas. bank of the Rio Grande River. This report extends the non-native range of Pomacea maculata The RGV offers a hospitable subtropical climate for P. Perry, 1810 by 429 km southeast in Texas. Our findings imply maculata and could present greater potential for reproduction that abandoned waterbodies, such as fish hatcheries, can act as and spread of this species. Resacas, otherwise known as oxbow unrecognized conduits for non-native invasive species. lakes or ponds, are remnants of the Rio Grande river channel previously cut off by eroding river banks or created by sedi- Key words. New record; gastropod; non-native; irrigation network; ment accumulation (Allhands 1960, Mora et al. 2001). Some GIS resacas qualify as permanent wetlands because they receive water intermittently from pumping stations. Other resacas The genus Pomacea Perry, 1810 (Ampullariidae) includes the may be subdivided and used as fish farms or fish hatcheries largest and most diverse group of freshwater snails native to (Robinson 2010). Although these ecosystems often get over- tropical and subtropical habitats in Central and South America looked by routine monitoring efforts or become abandoned (Hayes et al. 2015). In particular, 2 Pomacea species succeed once a hatchery closes, these modified resacas can still pro- globally as non-native invasive species (NNIS) (Hayes et al. vide valuable habitat for wetland plants, aquatic invertebrates, 2008, Hayes et al. 2012). For example, Pomacea maculata amphibians, fish and migratory birds within the semi-arid Perry, 1810, a large freshwater apple snail native to South Amer- environment of South Texas (Jahrsdoerfer & Leslie 1988). ica from the Amazon south to the Rio de la Plata (Hayes et al. For example, in Cameron County within the RGV (Fig. 1), a 2012), established NNIS populations in the United States in the recent survey found that 17 permanent resacas served as habitat early 1990s and has since spread to 8 southern states (Byers et for an endemic threatened siren, a type of salamander with al. 2013, Burks et al. 2016). Non-native apple snails consume small forelimbs (LaFortune 2015). Because they support an aquatic macrophytes (Burlakova et al. 2009), compete with endangered species, legal protection prevents certain resacas native species (Conner et al. 2008, Posch et al. 2013), disrupt from being drained. However, provision of permanent water ecosystem services (Gilioli et al. 2017), cause economic dam- in a semi-arid region may have the unintended consequence ages (Joshi & Sebastian 2006), and can harbour parasites that of also supporting NNIS, including mollusk species such as threaten wildlife (Dodd et al. 2016) and human health (Teem Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774), which are known et al. 2013). vectors of parasites that cause human infections (Benson & The greater Houston, Texas, metropolitan area (e.g., Har- Neilson 2017) and already occur in the RGV. ris, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston counties; Fig. 1) has Besides serving as habitat for wildlife, resacas provide addi- supported populations of P. maculata since 2000 (United tional ecosystem services as the RGV supports intensive agri- States Geological Survey 2016) in interconnected bayous, culture production that relies on an intricate irrigation canal ditches and canals (Burks et al. 2010, Burlakova et al. 2010). network for flood-irrigation of crops such as citrus (Enciso et New records appear annually in the database (United States al. 2008). To feed this network, water from the Rio Grande 1 Perez et al. | Apple snails establish in South Texas Figure 1. ArcGIS Map of the different types of wetlands and their interconnectivity within Cameron County. A red outline indicates the location of Cameron County on the inset map of Texas. A star marks the location of the Brownsville Fish Hatchery that contains the resaca that supports a reproduc- ing population of Pomacea maculata. Inset maps of the U.S. and Texas indicate the previous range of P. maculata with gray shading. Data retrieved from USGS (2016). River gets diverted through a network of over 3,200 km of damage maize, sugarcane, and citrus (Naylor 1996), staples canals and pipelines (Knight 2009), some with permanent of RGV agriculture (Enciso et al. 2008). Unfortunately, as water and others that flood periodically. This hydrological net- P. canaliculata and P. maculata establish new populations in work presents conditions potentially favorable to the spread of non-native habitats across the globe, taxonomic confusion has apple snails by providing more places to deposit egg clutches plagued apple snail identifications due to morphological simi- (Burks et al. 2010, Kyle et al. 2011). In addition, the habitat larities between the two Pomacea species and recent synonymy linkages also allow snails refuge as they can move into deeper of P. insularum d’Orbigny, 1835 to P. maculata (Hayes et al. water (i.e., resacas or main irrigation canals) to avoid seasonal 2012). In this paper, we quantify initial reproductive output of dry (Darby et al. 2002) or cold conditions (Naylor 1996). a newly established population of apple snails in the RGV and Consequently, snails may survive unfavorable conditions and genetically confirm the species identity to avoid any ambiguity. then increase their activity. In November 2015, researchers collected 7 snail egg clutch- In parts of Texas, crop rotation of rice fields most likely es attached to vegetation adjacent to the resaca by clipping minimizes detrimental effects of apple snails compared to the stems of vegetation to prevent damaging the egg clutches those documented in Southeast Asia (Burlakova et al. 2010). (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department permit no. SPR-1014- In Southeast Asia, herbivory by the more frequently studied 201). The resaca occurs as part of the Lower Laguna Madre Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1822), and likely P. maculata Coastal Fisheries Field Office of Texas Parks and Wildlife, for- as well, annually results in billions of dollars in damage to rice merly known as the Brownsville or Olmito Fish Hatchery, and (Joshi & Sebastian 2006), and causes considerable ecologi- hereafter referred to as the Brownsville Fish Hatchery (Fig. 1; cal damage to natural and constructed wetlands (Horgan et 25.9856° N, –97.5311° W). Clutches occurred on concrete al. 2014). However, the absence of a clear economic impact in fixtures, emergent vegetation such as cattails, horsetails, and Texas thus far does not imply a lack of vulnerable agricultural grasses, and plants overhanging the pond such as the Mexican areas, especially those with permanent water. Although most Fan Palm and other trees (Fig. 2). Researchers returned to the studies focus on impacts to rice farming, apple snails may also site in May of 2016 and collected additional clutches and found Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl 2 Volume 13 | Issue 3 | Article 2134