RESEARCH PAPER
Growth of juvenile Arianta arbustorum (Linnaeus, 1758) fed on White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) grown under ambient or elevated atmospheric CO2
 
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Department of Integrative Biology, Section of Conservation Biology (NLU), University of Basel, Switzerland
 
 
Submission date: 1999-06-10
 
 
Acceptance date: 1999-09-27
 
 
Publication date: 2020-07-13
 
 
Folia Malacol. 1999;7(3):171-175
 
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ABSTRACT
In many terrestrial ecosystems elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) may reduce plant quality and change plant-herbivore interactions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of elevated CO2 (600 ppm vs. 350 ppm) on white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and to examine the feeding response and growth of juveniles of the helicid land snail Arianta arbustorum (L.). Leaves of T. repens grown at elevated atmospheric CO2 had a lower nitrogen concentration and a lower specific leaf area than leaves grown under ambient CO2 conditions. However, elevated CO2 had no effect on leaf carbon concentration. Juvenile snails fed on either diet consumed about the same amount of leaf biomass. The lower leaf nitrogen concentration at elevated CO2 resulted in a reduced nitrogen uptake. As a consequence, juvenile A. arbustorum, fed on T. repens grown under elevated CO2, tended to grow more slowly than snails fed on T. repens leaves produced under ambient CO2. This indicates that rising atmospheric CO2 can indirectly affect the life cycle of terrestrial gastropods.
eISSN:2300-7125
ISSN:1506-7629
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