When thinking of the multitudes of creatures that are located along the Mississippi river, Bithynia tentaculata might be the last thing on your mind. You could be forgiven for not paying any attention to this small hard-shelled mollusk; however, it presents its own set of dangers. This is faucet snail is an invasive species that carries three species of parasites. Those parasites use the snails as an intermediate host, meaning they stay with the snail without killing them, but only long enough until the snails are eaten by Waterfowl. Once they are in the bird’s digestive track, the parasites cause hemorrhaging of the small intestine which kills the birds within a couple of days. It’s a major concern especially since a lot of the major migratory birds use the Mississippi River.
This is where the Koop Lab comes into play. As the snails progress southward down the Mississippi River they are introduced to a multiple factors. My part in the lab is to look at how the snails react to increasing water temperatures as they move further southwards. Determining the effects of increased temperature on snails will provide information on potential habitat ranges. If the snails are infected, then this data will also lend new insights to how parasites with complex life cycles are affected by the environment. And that brings us to this blog! I am using this space to post updates on Koop Lab here at Umass Dartmouth. Mostly I will be documenting my experience and my own lab experiment here, but there will also be postings of the other going-ons in the lab (be on the lookout for some crazy pictures of infected snails!), as well as the next steps for this lab to progress. I hope you enjoy our blog, and if you have any questions I encourage you to email us!
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Posting in this section will be written by Madison Bailey
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MAdison BAiley-SchofieldUndergraduate Biology and English major. Runs on coffee and credible facts. Snails for days! ArchivesCategories |