Ecological invasion of the giant African snail Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) in a semi-arid forest of western India.

Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) is invading Ranthambore national park, semi-arid forest of western India. Semi arid areas are presumed to be be immune from this ecological pest of humid tropical climate. Tourism induced changes in habitat is enabling this pest to colonise this fragile ecosystem.

Abstract

The giant African snail Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) (also known as Achatina fulica) is indigenous to the coastal region of con-tinental East Africa. It is one of the most invasive ecological pests in the world and threatens native flora, agriculture, human and animal health outside its natural range. While dry and semi-arid climatic re-gions are supposed to be immune to its invasion, our data show that this is not always the case. Ranthambhore National Park is dry, de-ciduous forest located in semi-arid part of western India. We have observed the progressive invasion of L. fulica in this fragile land-scape since its first introduction in 2010. Subsequently, it has spread over a large area at an alarming rate. We discuss the observations on behaviour and the factors responsible for the rapid spread of L. fulica in the park.