Gastropod diversity with physico-chemical characteristics of water and soil in selected areas of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, India

Abstract

A study on population dynamics of freshwater and terrestrial gastropods and also physico-chemical characteristics of soil and water was studied during October 2008 to November 2009 at Mangalore, Bantwal and Puttur taluks of Dakshina Kannada. Gastropods were collected using the traditional method of handpicking and mean values of all the studied sites were taken to determine the density, frequency and abundance of these species. The physico-chemical characteristics of water and soil in the selected areas were analyzed using standard methods. Thirteen species of terrestrial gastropods belonging to six families and 6 species of freshwater gastropods belonging to five different families were observed and identified. Shannon diversity indices and Simpson’s indices revealed the species richness and diversity were maximum at Mangalore when compared to the other two study locations. The value of physico-chemical parameters indicates that there was a moderate positive relation with the population dynamics of gastropods.