Poster Details
POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY OF LEPTOXIS AMPLA (COENOGASTROPODA: PLEUROCERIDAE), A THREATENED SPECIES IN THE CAHABA RIVER BASIN, ALABAMA, USA
The Cahaba River has the highest level of extant pleurocerid diversity in the Mobile River Basin. With 74% of the entire North American freshwater gastropod fauna considered imperiled, the importance of conservation research on these taxa cannot be understated. Leptoxis ampla, commonly known as the Round Rocksnail, is an endemic pleurocerid that is listed as federally threatened and patchily distributed in the Cahaba River Basin. Little is known about these populations of L. ampla, and knowledge of effective population abundance, size structure, and production is critical to understanding the viability of individual populations. We targeted four populations of L. ampla from known localities in the Cahaba River and its tributaries and sampled for species abundance and developed secondary reproduction models for each population using AFDM to develop length-mass regressions models. Results indicate populations in tributaries are more stable, reproducing more frequently and maintaining greater population abundance year-round. Cahaba River populations suffer from habitat degradation, suggesting conservation efforts prioritize main stem populations.
Lori Tolley-Jordan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Jacksonville State University, ljordan@jsu.edu;
Brian Helms (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Troy University, helmsb@troy.edu;
Daniel Wicker (Primary Presenter/Author), Jacksonville State University, dwicker@stu.jsu.edu;