Invasive Freshwater Gastropod Ecology

Freshwater gastropods have become formidable invaders in inland waters worldwide, carried inadvertently or deliberately through the aquarium trade, ballast water and aquaculture activities. Once established, non-native snails can displace indigenous communities by outcompeting native species for algae and detritus, altering sediment dynamics and even serving as novel hosts for parasites. Their capacity to withstand a wide range of salinities and temperatures, coupled with high reproductive rates—often via parthenogenesis—enables rapid population expansion in new habitats. In some systems, invasive snails induce trophic cascades by modifying primary producer biomass and restructuring invertebrate and vertebrate food webs. Conversely, they may also mitigate ecological degradation by replacing lost native prey in human-impacted lakes. Phylogeographic studies have revealed that many invasions are cryptic, involving morphologically similar lineages that escape early detection, which complicates management and biosecurity efforts. Modern approaches, including species distribution modelling and environmental DNA surveillance, are refining both risk assessments and prioritisation of control measures. Effective management now hinges on a combination of pathway regulation, habitat restoration and targeted removal, underpinned by international cooperation to prevent further spread and safeguard freshwater biodiversity.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Invasive Freshwater Gastropod Ecology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in invasive freshwater gastropod ecology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cryptic invasion: The establishment of genetically distinct lineages that are morphologically similar to resident species, making detection difficult.

Trophic cascade: A series of indirect interactions that begin with a change in the abundance of a predator or consumer, leading to alterations in lower trophic levels such as algae or detritivores.

Species distribution modelling: A computational method that combines species occurrence data with environmental variables to predict potential geographic ranges.

Phylogeography: The study of historical processes that have shaped the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species.

References

1. Non‐native fish facilitate non‐native snails and alter food web structure in experimental pond communities. Functional Ecology (2023).
2. Non‐native Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) supports consumers in urban lake food webs. Ecosphere (2016).
3. When One Global Invasion Hides Another—Cryptic Interspecific Invasion in Freshwater Gastropods. Diversity and Distributions (2024).
4. Salinity and temperature tolerance of the invasive freshwater gastropod Tarebia granifera. South African Journal of Science (2010).
5. Population Structure of an Invasive Parthenogenetic Gastropod in Coastal Lakes and Estuaries of Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. PLOS ONE (2011).
6. Aliens and Returnees: Review of Neobiotic Species of Freshwater Mollusks in Siberia from the Kazakhstan Steppe to the Arctic Tundra. Diversity (2023).
7. Stable Isotope Evidence for Dietary Overlap between Alien and Native Gastropods in Coastal Lakes of Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. PLOS ONE (2012).