Kafkas Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 2024 , Vol 30 , Issue 3
Possible Threats of the Presence of Non-Native Invasive Land Snail Species in Türkiye
Muzaffer Mustafa HARLIOĞLU1, Zahra BATOOL1, Deniz Anıl ODABAŞI2, Konul AHMADOVA3
1Fisheries Faculty, Department of Fish Cultivation, Fırat University, TR-23119 Elazığ - TÜRKİYE
2Marine Science and Technology Faculty, Department of Marine and Freshwater Biology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TR-17020 Çanakkale - TÜRKİYE
3School of Higher Technologies and Innovative Engineering, Department of Natural Sciences, Western Caspian University, III Parallel, 21 Ahmad Rajabli, Baku, AZE1072, AZERBAIJAN
DOI : 10.9775/kvfd.2024.31433 Land snails, including some economically important species, are commonly found in forests and mountainous regions of Türkiye. Türkiye"s large geomorphological region and four surrounding seas, which offer a variety of malacofauna, help Türkiye achieve an endemism grade of over 65%. Despite extensive research over the past few decades, we still lack a sufficient understanding of the species identification of land snails in Türkiye, particularly in areas like forested mountain regions, and it is assumed that there are more than 1000 taxa in total. This review emphasizes the existence of invasive non-native snail species in Türkiye, such as Arion ater (Linnaeus, 1758) and Arion vulgaris Moquin- Tandon, 1855, which have a negative impact on agricultural and horticultural output. In addition to these species, Theba pisana, Cornu aspersum, Xeropicta derbentina, Xeropicta krynickii, Cernuella virgata and Eobania vermiculata are also found in Türkiye as nonnative land snail species. Moreover, it also places a strong emphasis on the necessity of managing invasive species to reduce their detrimental effects on natural ecosystems by giving examples from the world and covers the predictions about the possible threats that the presence of non-native invasive land snail species in Türkiye may pose in the future. Keywords : Arion ater, Arion vulgaris, Crop loss, Ecosystems, Environmental problem, Malacofauna