Rocky Mountain Capshell Snail (Acroloxus coloradensis): A Technical Conservation Assessment Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project January 20, 2005 Tamara Anderson, Ph.D. 1075 S. 2nd Lander, WY 82520 Peer Review Administered by Society for Conservation Biology Anderson, T. (2005, January 20). Rocky Mountain Capshell Snail (Acroloxus coloradensis): a technical conservation assessment. [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/ projects/scp/assessments/rockymountaincapshellsnail.pdf [date of access]. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared for the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service under contract number 53-82X9-3-0060. Several individuals provided unpublished information and/or suggested references. J. Lee supplied a copy of her COSEWIC report. B. Ellis, University of Montana, provided information on her ongoing work. J. Riebesell, University of Michigan-Dearborn, was extremely helpful in answering questions, providing resources, discussing his ongoing work, and providing comments on an early draft. C. Albrecht and I. Picard alerted me to references and current work. D. Lowry, Arapaho National Forest, supplied information on Region 2 Forest Service guidelines. C. Eads provided information on mussels and an ongoing road study. F. Thompson also provided comments on an early draft. AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY Tamara Anderson has studied mollusks for more than 10 years and has spent several years surveying mollusks in South Dakota and Wyoming. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University where she studied a federally endangered land snail. She is currently an adjunct curator at the University of Colorado Museum. 2 3 SUMMARY OF KEY COMPONENTS FOR CONSERVATION OF ACROLOXUS COLORADENSIS Status Acroloxus coloradensis (Rocky Mountain capshell snail) is considered a sensitive species in the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region (Region 2). This species is the only representative of Family Acroloxidae that resides in North America. Across its range, A. coloradensis is rare and has widely disjunct populations with some clusters of populations in Quebec, Colorado, and British Columbia. Only six locations are known in Region 2, including populations on the Routt and Roosevelt national forests. Primary Threats Acroloxus coloradensis resides in clean boreal lakes with rocky substrate. Because these lakes are critical habitat, some management activities have the potential to impact these populations. Primary threats include timber harvesting, pesticide application, fisheries management, and some recreational activities. Lowered water levels are a possible cause of the decline in one population. Primary Conservation Elements, Management Implications and Considerations Without information on the status of more of the known populations, it is difficult to manage the species. Additional surveys and monitoring are necessary to better understand the distribution and make fine-scale management decisions. However, it is known that this species evolved under a much narrower range of water quality conditions, less influenced by anthropogenic factors. Therefore, taking conservative routes of maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems and natural processes that influence Acroloxus coloradensis habitat should be strongly considered when planning land management activities. 2 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................................................2 AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................................2 SUMMARY OF KEY COMPONENTS FOR CONSERVATION OF ACROLOXUS COLORADENSIS .....................3 Status..........................................................................................................................................................................3 Primary Threats..........................................................................................................................................................3 Primary Conservation Elements, Management Implications and Considerations.....................................................3 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................7 Goal............................................................................................................................................................................7 Scope..........................................................................................................................................................................7 Treatment of Uncertainty ...........................................................................................................................................7 Application and Interpretation Limits of this Assessment .........................................................................................8 Publication of Assessment on the World Wide Web ..................................................................................................8 Peer Review ...............................................................................................................................................................8 MANAGEMENT STATUS AND NATURAL HISTORY .............................................................................................8 Management Status ....................................................................................................................................................8 Existing Regulatory Mechanisms, Management Plans, and Conservation Elements................................................8 Biology and Ecology..................................................................................................................................................9 Systematics and general species description.........................................................................................................9 Distribution and abundance...................................................................................................................................9 Population trend ..................................................................................................................................................12 Activity patterns and movements........................................................................................................................12 Habitat .................................................................................................................................................................12 Food habits ..........................................................................................................................................................13 Breeding biology.................................................................................................................................................13 Demography........................................................................................................................................................14 Genetic issues .................................................................................................................................................14 Life history .....................................................................................................................................................14 Social pattern for spacing ...............................................................................................................................15 Patterns of dispersal........................................................................................................................................15 Connectivity ...................................................................................................................................................15 Limiting factors ..............................................................................................................................................15 Community ecology ............................................................................................................................................16 Predators.........................................................................................................................................................16 Competitors ....................................................................................................................................................16 Parasites and disease.......................................................................................................................................17 Symbiotic and mutualistic interactions ..........................................................................................................17 Envirogram.....................................................................................................................................................17 CONSERVATION.........................................................................................................................................................17