The introduction of Melanoides tuberculata (Mollusca: Thiaridae) to the island of Saint Lucia (West Indies) and its role in the decline of Biomphalaria glabrata, the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. 1993

J P Pointier
Laboratoire de Biologie Marine et Malacologie, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Méditérranéenne, Perpignan, France.

A malacological survey was carried out in May 1992 in the whole hydrographic system of Saint Lucia 11 years after the end of a biological control programme to eliminate Biomphalaria glabrata, the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. A competitor snail, Melanoides tuberculata, was introduced to Saint Lucia in 1978 and field experiments in several habitats were conducted by Prentice between 1978 and 1986. At the present time M. tuberculata is the most common freshwater snail in Saint Lucia. The results of the survey, undertaken in sites where B. glabrata occurred in large populations in the past showed (i) the absence of the snail hosts from seven sites now extensively colonized by the competitor (ii) the presence of B. glabrata in low or very low densities in 17 sites together with the competitor and (iii) the presence of the intermediate hosts in large populations in only two sites where M. tuberculata was absent. These results confirm the positive results observed by Prentice. The presence of another planorbid snail, B. straminea, is reported for the first time in Saint Lucia.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010572 Pest Control, Biological Use of naturally-occuring or genetically-engineered organisms to reduce or eliminate populations of pests. Biological Pest Control,Biologic Pest Control,Pest Control, Biologic,Biologic Pest Controls,Biological Pest Controls,Pest Controls, Biologic,Pest Controls, Biological
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001700 Biomphalaria A genus of planorbid freshwater snails, species of which are intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni. Australorbis,Australorbis glabratus,Australorbi,Biomphalarias
D012550 Schistosoma mansoni A species of trematode blood flukes of the family Schistosomatidae. It is common in the Nile delta. The intermediate host is the planorbid snail. This parasite causes schistosomiasis mansoni and intestinal bilharziasis. Schistosoma mansonus,mansonus, Schistosoma
D012908 Snails Marine, freshwater, or terrestrial mollusks of the class Gastropoda. Most have an enclosing spiral shell, and several genera harbor parasites pathogenic to man. Snail
D014900 West Indies Islands lying between southeastern North America and northern South America, enclosing the Caribbean Sea. They comprise the Greater Antilles (CUBA; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC; HAITI; JAMAICA; and PUERTO RICO), the Lesser Antilles (ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA and the other Leeward Islands, BARBADOS; MARTINIQUE and the other Windward Islands, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES; VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES, BRITISH VIRGINI ISLANDS, and the islands north of Venezuela which include TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO), and the BAHAMAS. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1330) Caribbean Islands,Cayman Islands,Montserrat,Turks and Caicos Islands

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