Heavy metal pollution affects consumption and reproduction of the landsnail Cepaea nemoralis fed on naturally polluted Urtica dioica leaves

This study is one of the very first that investigates the effects of heavy metal pollution on food consumption and reproduction of terrestrial snails under semi-realistic field conditions. Two experiments were carried out using snails (Cepaea nemoralis) and food (Urtica dioica leaves) from different...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecotoxicology (London) 2006-04, Vol.15 (3), p.295-304
Main Authors: Notten, Martje J M, Oosthoek, Annelies J P, Rozema, Jelte, Aerts, Rien
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cepaea nemoralis
Clutch size
Detoxification
Environmental Pollutants - toxicity
Feeding Behavior - drug effects
Female
Food
Food Chain
Heavy metals
Male
Metals, Heavy - toxicity
Plant Leaves - chemistry
Reproduction - drug effects
Snails - drug effects
Snails - growth & development
Urtica dioica
Urtica dioica - chemistry
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Summary:This study is one of the very first that investigates the effects of heavy metal pollution on food consumption and reproduction of terrestrial snails under semi-realistic field conditions. Two experiments were carried out using snails (Cepaea nemoralis) and food (Urtica dioica leaves) from different metal polluted locations and one reference location. The first experiment showed that both polluted and reference snails fed on high-metal leaves from a highly polluted location had significantly lower consumption rates than snails consuming leaves from the reference location. In the second experiment, snails from both locations used in the consumption experiment and from two low-polluted locations were kept on native soil and food in order to reproduce. No negative effect of heavy metal pollution on clutch size was found for the snails from the reference location and the low-polluted locations. Snails from the highly polluted location laid no eggs. This suggests that at high levels of metal pollution, reproduction is strongly negatively affected. We suggest that the absence of egg laying by snails from the highly polluted location results from a combination of decreased consumption and an increased demand of energy for the accumulation and detoxification of metals (decreased scope for growth).
ISSN:0963-9292
1573-3017
DOI:10.1007/s10646-006-0059-3