The Natural Habitat of the Freshwater Snail

Freshwater snails can be found in ponds.

Freshwater snails, or gastropods, live in various habitats depending on the species. The largest and most diverse populations exist in large to medium rivers, especially areas with clean, stable river bottoms, high oxygen concentrations, clean and hard water. Many factors contribute to freshwater snail habitats.

Water Temperature

Fluctuations in water temperature affect the survival of freshwater snails. Low temperatures slow down their physiological functions. Freshwater snails living in ponds with high temperatures struggle to survive, if they can at all. High temperatures in warmer areas cause evaporation, reduced water levels and ultimately leads to habitat loss.

Water Level

According to Bengt Hubendick, curator of State Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, Sweden, water levels affect the balance between animals, bacteria and vegetation in the habitat. For snails, it is mostly extreme changes that affect them. If the water dries up, freshwater snails cope with aestivation. This is similar to hibernation, but makes respiration very difficult for snails. The snail's ability to survive drought depends on species and maturity. Freshwater snails live in bodies of water of various volumes, depths and sizes. However, freshwater gastropods (snails) almost always live in shallow water. Only a few species prefer deep water.

Light

Freshwater Snail Basking in Sunlight

The intensity of light changes water temperature and controls plant growth and photosynthesis. Without light, there is no algae growth, which snails depend on for their main food source.

Distribution

The largest amount of freshwater snails in North America exists in the streams and rivers of the Mobile River Basin (located in Georgia, eastern Mississippi, southeast Tennessee and Alabama). It contains 120 different freshwater snail species. That is 18 percent of the entire freshwater snail population in North America, according to Paul D. Johnson, researcher from Virginia Tech. The second most diverse distribution of freshwater snails exists in the Ohio River Basin. More than 75 species make their homes in the Ohio River Basin.

Habitat Loss

Freshwater snail populations are rapidly declining due to human influences on their natural habitats. Water pollution, channel and sedimentation instability, dredging and channelization and dams endanger the freshwater snail's natural habitat.

References

• National Center for Biotechnology Information: Factors conditioning the Habitat of Freshwater Snails
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Sustaining America's Aquatic Biodiversity - Freshwater Snail Biodiversity and Conservation
• South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: Freshwater Snails