Description
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animalia | Mollusca | Gastropoda | Monotocardia | Rissoidae | Bithynia |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Established | Stable | Introduced | Regular Resident | North America | Eurasia | Shipping(Dry Ballast),Ornamental(Aquatic Plant),Agriculture(Packing Material-Agricultural) |
History of Spread
Bithynia tentaculata (Faucet Snail) is native to Europe, but fossil Bithynia are known from Pleistocene sediments near Lake Michigan. All living B. tentaculata populations in North America are derived from introductions (Mills et al. 1993). Bithynia tentaculata was first reported from Lake Michigan in 1871, and spread rapidly into all the other Great Lakes except Superior, reaching Lake Ontario by 1879 and Lake Champlain by 1882. Massive irruptions in city water systems along the Great Lakes led to the common name 'Faucet Snail' (Mills et al. 1993). It reached the Erie Canal by 1880, and was introduced to the Mohawk River by an amateur naturalist in 1888. It soon colonized the Hudson River, and is now abundant in tidal fresh regions of the estuary (Mills et al. 1997). It has been collected in the Delaware River basin, in Brandywine Creek, Wilmington DE (date not given) (Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2004).
In the Chesapeake drainage, B. tentaculata was, until recently, known only from the Potomac River It was first reported from the tidal fresh Potomac at Alexandria, VA by Pilsbry (1927) and Marshall (1933). B. tentaculata was one of the dominant gastropods in the late 1970's at Great Falls, VA, in the non-tidal river (Hamilton 1979). Further upriver, at Dickerson, MD (Montgomery County), it was 'occasionally encountered' by Academy of Natural Sciences workers since 1956; and by 1978 'The Faucet Snail has recently become distinctly more populous in the study area, though still far from abundant' (Fuller 1978). It was listed for tidal fresh regions of the Potomac by Lippson et al. (1979). This snail was found to be abundant underneath rocks in the lower intertidal at Dyke Marsh, Alexandria, VA, 1997-2000 (Fofonoff, personal observation).
In October 2004, Bithynia tentaculata was found to be common in pools around the lowest rapids of the Big Gunpowder Falls river in Baltimore County, about 0.5 km above tidewater on this upper Bay tributary. It had not been seen in previous visits to this site in 1996 and 2003 (Fofonoff, personal observation). In October, 2005, it was abundant in the Patapsco River, about 20 km above tidewater(Fofonoff, personal observation). The extent of its range in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is not known.
History References - Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2004; Fuller 1978; Hamilton 1979; Lippson et al. 1979; Marshall 1933; Mills et al. 1993; Mills et al. 1997; Pilsbry 1927
Invasion Comments
Native Region - Fossil Bithynia tentaculata are known from Pleistocene sediments near Lake Michigan, but all living B. tentaculata populations in North America are derived from introductions (Mills et al. 1993).
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | 0.0 | 33.7 | 18.0 | 27.0 |
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 | |
| Oxygen | hypoxic | |||
| pH | 6.5000000000 | 7.8000000000 | ||
| Salinity Range | fresh-oligo |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | 8.0 | |
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | 10.0 | |
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Typical Longevity (yrs | 1.2 |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Bithynia tentaculata does not seem to have reached abundances that would cause economic impacts in Chesapeake Bay region.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Fisheries (Wildlife) - In southern Quebec, B. tentaculata is major intermediate host of Cyathocotyle bushiensis and Sphaeridotrema globulus, digenean trematodes which caused extensive deaths of dabbling ducks (McRae and Lepitzki 1994).
Industry - In the early 20th century, this species often infested municipal water supplies in the Great Lakes region, from intake pipes to water faucets, giving rise to the name 'Faucet Snail'. In Erie PA, wagonloads of snails were hauled away from water pumping stations (Mills et al. 1993).
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
In the Chesapeake bay region, Bithynia tentaculata (Faucet Snail) is apparently limited to the Piedmont and tidal fresh regions of the Potomac River.
Competition - Bithynia tentaculata has been noted to replace native snails of the family Pleuroceridae, especially in polluted waters. This has been attributed to its ability to switch between grazing and filter-feeding (Harman 1968). At Great Falls VA, the presence of B. tentaculata decreased density of egg capsules and Mudalia carinata, but it was not clear whether this was due to interference with egg production or egg mortality (Hamilton 1979). However, in the intertidal zone at Dyke Marsh, in the Potomac estuary, Elimia virginica seems to greatly outnumber B. tentaculata suggesting that these interactions were not severely affecting the native species (Fofonoff, personal observations).
Food/Prey - Bithynia tentaculata is eaten by fishes, crayfishes, waterfowl and was roughly intermediate among five species in terms of vulnerability to predation (shell crushing resistance) (Hamilton 1979). It is not clear that B. tentaculata's invasion has affected food resources for molluscivorous predators in the Potomac.
In the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin. Bithynia tentaculata is important as the host of several parasites affecting native waterfowl. In Southern Quebec, B. tentaculata is the major intermediate host of Cyathocotyle bushiensis and Sphaeridotrema spp., digenean trematodes which caused extensive deaths of dabbling ducks (McRae and Lepitzski 1994). In WI, B. tentaculata was the intermediate host of Leyogonimus polyoon, an introduced European digenean trematode which caused extensive deaths of American Coots in 1997 (Cole and Friend 1999). We do not know if these parasites occur in the Chesapeake Bay region.
References- Cole and Friend 1999; Hamilton 1979; Harman 1968; McRae and Lepitzki 1994
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
In the Chesapeake bay region, Bithynia tentaculata (Faucet Snail) is apparently limited to the Piedmont and tidal fresh regions of the Potomac River.
Food/Prey - B. tentaculata (Faucet Snail) was eaten by the introduced crayfish Orconectes virilis and Procambarus clarki, as well as the native O. limosus. Among 5 snail species, Bithynia was roughly intermediate in susceptiblity to crayfish predation (Hamilton 1979). It is not clear that B. tentaculata's invasion has affected food resources for molluscivorous predators in the Potomac.
References- Hamilton 1979
References
Brendelberger, H.; Jurgens, S. (1993) Suspension feeding in Bithynia tentaculata (Prosobranchia, Bithyniidae), as affected by body size, food and temperature, Oecologia 94: 36-42Brendelberger, Heinz (1995) Growth of juvenile Bithynia tentaculata (Prosobranchia, Bithyniidae) under different food regimes: a long-term laboratory study, Journal of Molluscan Studies 62: 89-95
Burch, J. B. (1982) Freshwater Snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of North America, , Cincinnati. Pp.
Cole, R. A.; Friend M. A. (1999) Miscellaneous parasitic diseases, In: Friend, Milton A., Franson, J. Christian(Eds.) Field manual of wildlife diseases. , Madison WI. Pp. 249-262
Dundee, Dee S. (1974) Catalog of introduced molluscs of eastern North America (North of Mexico), Sterkiana 55: 1-37
Fretter, Vera; Graham, Alastair (1962) British prosobranch molluscs: their functional anatomy and ecology, In: (Eds.) . , London. Pp.
Fuller, Samuel (1978) The changing molluscan community, In: Flynn, Kevin C., and Mason, William T.(Eds.) The Freshwater Potomac: Aquatic Communities and Environmental Stresses. , Rockville, MD. Pp. 124-131
Hamilton, Suzanne (1979) Shell armor in freshwater gastropods: its protective advantages and potential liabilities, , College Park MD. Pp.
Harman, Willard N. (1968a) Replacement of pleurocerids by Bithynia in polluted waters of Central New York, Nautilus 81: 77-83
Jokinen, Eileen H. (1992) The freshwater snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of New York State, New York State Museum Bulletin 482: 1-89
Lippson, Alice J.; Haire, Michael S.; Holland, A. Frederick; Jacobs, Fred; Jensen, Jorgen; Moran-Johnson, R. Lynn; Polgar, Tibor T.; Richkus, William (1979) Environmental Atlas of the Potomac Estuary, , Baltimore, MD. Pp.
MacRae, Maria; Lepitzki, Dwayne A. W. (1994) Population estimation of the snail Bithynia tentaculata (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) using mark-recapture and the examination of snail movement in pools, Canadian Field-Naturalist 108: 58-66
Marshall, William B. (1933) Bulimus tentaculatus (L.) (Bithynia tentaculata) living in the Potomac River, Nautilus 46: 141-142
Mills, Edward L.; Leach, Joseph H.; Carlton, James T.; Secor, Carol L. (1993) Exotic species in the Great Lakes: a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions., Journal of Great Lakes Research 19: 1-54
Mills, Edward L.; Scheuerell, Mark D.; Carlton, James T.; Strayer, David (1997) Biological invasions in the Hudson River: an inventory and historical analysis., New York State Museum Circular 57: 1-51
Pilsbry, H. A. (1927) Bithynia tentaculata in the Potomac, Nautilus 46: 69
Strayer, David (1987) Ecology and zoogeography of the freshwater mollusks of the Hudson River Basin, Malacological Review 20: 1-68
Tashiro, Jay S. (1982) Growth in Bithynia tentaculata: Age-specific bioenergetic patterns in reproductive partitioning of ingested carbon and nitrogen, American Midland Naturalist 107: 132-150
Tashiro, Jay S.; Colman, Steven D. (1982) Filter-feeding in the freshwater prosobranch snail (Bithynia tentaculata): Bioenergetic partitioning of ingested nitrogen and carbon), American Midland Naturalist 107: 114-125
Thibault, Y.; Couture, R. (1982) Etude de la resistance thermique superieure de Bithynia tentaculata Linne (Gasteropode, Prosobranche) en fonction de l'acclimatation., Revue Canadienne de la Biologie Expérimentale 41: 97-104
Vincent, B.; Gaucher, M. (1983) Variations de la fecondite et de la structure des populations chez Bithynia tentaculata L. (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia), Canadian Journal of Zoology 61: 2417-2423
Vincent, B.; Vaillancourt G.; Harvey, M. (1981) Cycle de developpement, croissance, effectifs, biomasse, et production de Bithynia tentaculata L. (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) dans le Saint-Laurent (Quebec), Canadian Journal of Zoology 59: