AsianScientist (Jul. 15, 2011) – Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have discovered that tiny land snails (Tornatellides boeningi) have the ability to survive a trip through a bird’s gut and come out alive in the droppings.
Earlier, when scientists looked at the genetic diversity of the T. boneningi in Hahajima island, 620 miles south of Tokyo, they found that the snails were mating with populations found on other areas of the island.
One theory for this type of long distance dispersal was that the snails were traveling on the birds’ feet. However, this may not have been the only method for dispersal.
In the first study of its kind, Shinchiro Wada and his team showed that when the Japanese bulbul (Zosterops japonicas) feasts on the T. boneningi, around 15 percent of these tiny snails survive this and pass through the bird’s gut into its droppings alive and intact.
Incredibly, one snail even gave birth to juveniles after emerging from a bird’s gut!
Averaging at 2.5 mm in length, their diminutive size may be a factor that helps them survive – larger species of snails show severe damage to their shells when ingested by the birds.
Wada and his colleagues said that further study is required to find out whether the tiny snails have other adaptations that may have allowed them to survive.
The article can be found at: Wada S et al. (2011) Snails can survive passage through a bird’s digestive system.
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Source: Physorg.com.
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