Abstract
The European-origin faucet snail (Bithynia tentaculata) has been present in the lower Laurentian Great Lakes since the late 1800s but only very recently reached Lake Superior. Surveys from 2011 through 2013 found faucet snails abundant and wide-spread in the St. Louis River Estuary (reinforcing the estuary's status as non-native species introduction hotspot), with scattered finds elsewhere along Lake Superior's southern shore. Faucet snails were found primarily in littoral areas that had been sampled with D-frame nets. We discuss what is known of the distribution and timeline of the faucet snail in Lake Superior, and summarize morphological features helpful in distinguishing the faucet snail from other gastropods (e.g., the operculum). Given its potential for spread and impacts (including as waterfowl disease vector), the faucet snail warrants an elevated profile in non-native species monitoring, education, and decontamination measures in the upper Great Lakes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1197-1200 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Journal of Great Lakes Research |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank EPA and NRRI crews for sample collection efforts, and Adam Frankiewicz, Brent Gilbertson, Robert Hell, and Holly Wellard Kelly for taxonomic work. Funding came from U.S. EPA through Great Lakes Restoration Initiative agreements GL-00E00500-2 and GL-00E00612-0 , from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency under contract CR#6403, from USFWS Cooperative Agreements 232 F11AC00517 and 30181AJ68 , and from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and LimnoTech. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of these agencies. This is contribution number 596 from the NRRI's Center for Water and the Environment.
Keywords
- Faucet snail
- Great Lakes
- Operculum
- Range expansion
- St. Louis River estuary
