Environmental factors influencing land snail diversity patterns in Arabuko Sokoke forest, Kenya

摘要

Land snails include one of the most important groups of invertebrates in terrestrial ecosystems. In forest ecosystems, they contribute in soil production and calcium concentration (Taltersfield et al., 1998). They are an important food source for other animals (Pakarinen, 1994). Some molluscs are useful indicators of environmental conditions (Tattersfield et al. 1998). Despite their value, they are one of the most threatened fauna in East Africa. This is because the majority of the regional snails are forest dwellers (Verdcourt. 1972), and most regional forests arc rapidly declining as a result of humanexploitation(Burgess & Clarke,1999). Subsequently, the majority of the regional molluscan studies have mainly focused on taxonomy with little regard to snail ecology (Tattersfield, Seddon & Lange, 2001), yet species ecological data provide vital information for wildlife conservation planning (Oindo et al. (2001). This study sought to investigate the environmental factors influencing snail diversity patterns in Arabuko Sokoke forest, Kenya.