WC v CB - Behavioral & genetic differences?

[manxminx]

I was wondering if anyone had compared the behaviours of Wild caught Vs Captive bred GALS species?

My thinking here is that after years of captive breeding various behavioural traits (ones that are not so important in captivity) would be reduced, and others increased, for example, foraging for food, self-protection and self- presevation, ability to cope with greater variances in temperature and humidity, interaction abilities, spacial awarenes, problem solving and pro-active behaviours, mating rituals etc. Would babies of generations of CB GALS survive in the wild, or have they lost that 'survival instinct'?

Also, and of similar interest, does inbreeding of captive snails cause any visible genetic differences over many tens of generations when compared to Wild caught ones? Or to put it another way, are molluscs susceptible to 'tired gene syndrome', and if so to what degree? It would make sense that they are - certainly if you look at other types of animals (including humans), inbreeding over generations does result in increased medical and psychological problems and susceptibilities, as well as, on occasions, some visual differences.

I think these questions are relevant because of the increasing availability of fresh DNA in the form of Wild caught GALS, either from the likes of Brixton Market, or directly from Africa. Should we allow these WC GALS to breed with a well established line of CB GALS? Yes, in theory, it's a good idea to 'refresh' the DNA of a particular species, but in practice it could lead to problems as well as benefits if there are behavioural and/or biological differences between WC and CB GALS.

Ali.

[Kevin]

I think wild caught Snails behave quite a bit different to captive Snails, especially Archachatina species and tiger snails, they arent as active Ive noticed, even when kept very warm and humid. Wild caught fulica arent that different to captive fulica, though they are usually just larger.

Ive noticed most wild caught Snails are usually larger than any captive Snail of the same species is likely to attain as well, which is a bit odd, as I would of thought a Snail kept in constant required conditions with more food and no competition should get larger?

Inbreeding affecting Snails isnt proven I dont think? it would be difficult to say its definitly inbreeding thats causing problems, but with species like fulica, which are prone to health problems for seemingly no reason, and are almost always severely stunted (they can reach 20cm or so in the wild) it does seem likely to be causing it, especially when newly imported Snails are usually larger than captive adults, and still growing.

I think breeding wild caught stock to captive Snails is a good idea, and definitly worth attempting if your able to get hold of wild Snails. Im hoping to get some Ghanaian fulica soon, which Im going to pair with my Tanzanian wild fulica, that ive had for a year or so now, they still havent laid eggs, but i'm hopeful they will eventually. Obviously with wild Snails they should be quarentined first, to check for mites and other parasites before introducing them to captive Snails.

[AlienSnail]

Yes I agree with Kevin, but to add to what he's said about smaller off-spring (not including the runts) I've read reports that with siblings kept in different containers the ones in the larger container will grow larger than the ones in smaller comtainers which makes sense to me. I don't know if this is always the case, and how many species this affects.

I was wondering about Iredalei, mine prefer it to be warm and humid, without a doubt, however I've read of someone saying she's had great success keeping these in dryer and cooler conditions. Could it be that Iredalei in captivity are evolving to suit their environment over a few generations? That those raised for a few generations in one condition will produce babies who prefer that condition?

As for inbreeding in Fulica it makes perfect sense that it's not doing them any good, they do seem prone to health issues, and some drop dead without warning. There are loads of runty ones also. I keep these and though they are the same age do not show signs of mating, whereas the larger ones do, but if the small ones do breed it would produce smaller sock - probably.
In the wild these smaller snails may die out quicker - I don't know.

[manxminx]

Hmm. . . interesting.

As Aliensnail points out, in the wild, natural selection would weed out the runts and favour the stronger ones, something that doesn't happen in captivity. I've heard about the health problems and sudden deaths with fulicas. Maybe this could be the reason, some sort of genetic abnormality that would otherwise have been halted by natural selection.

Also, it makes perfect sense that various species (the more adaptive ones?) are evolving to suit their environment over a few generations. As Kevin points out, people have noticed that CB GALS tend to be smaller than their WC counterparts, and yes it makes some sense that "the ones in the larger container will grow larger than the ones in smaller containers", although I'd have thought that the better diet and environmental conditions of CB GALS would have offset this? Maybe again, it's down to the lack of natural selection amongst CB stock? Maybe in the wild it would be the bigger, fitter ones that outlive the others?

As usually happens, it looks like we've got more theories than concrete answers. . . .

Interesting though ;D

Ali.

[Arno]

I think you're right about the smaller fulica's not making it in the wild(survival of the fittest etc).Many runts which stay alive in captivity would die in nature.This,I guess,and not inbreeding is the main cause for the health issues some fulica's have.So ideally,anyone breeding fulica's should only keep the strongest.(but I do realize this is a sensitive topic).
I know CB snails can adapt to different temperatures and humidity,I keep my Tigers at about 21 degrees Celsius and very high humidity and they are thriving.

[theodidactus]

All of my snails are wild caught, and I believe they are A. Fulicas.
I'm beginning a bunch of experiments to study their behavior, so I'll post any insights here.

I haven't noticed any terribly different behavior, but one thing that I'll say about wild-caught snails in Taiwan is that they tend to have rough shells. Three of my snails had some pretty nasty shell damage at some point in their lives: parts of their shells are cracked or chipped. They also grow much faster than I expected: The little ones have grown visibly over the past two weeks.