Developing a Systematic Sampling Framework for Terrestrial Gastropods in the Canadian Arctic ...

• Main Author: Sullivan, Joshua
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Graduate Studies 2016
• Subjects: Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; Parasitology; Arctic; Gastropod; Deroceras laeve; Intermediate Host; Protostrongylidae; Nunavut; Tundra; Victoria Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/25619; https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/11023/2943

Two protostrongylid parasites of Arctic ungulates, Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensis and Varestrongylus eleguneniensis, were recently discovered in muskoxen on Victoria Island, Nunavut. The subsequent range expansion and increasing prevalence of these lungworms on the island suggested that the temperature-dependent rate of larval development in the gastropod intermediate host was no longer constraining their range to the Arctic mainland. Thus, to determine if the ecology of the gastropod intermediate host would facilitate or restrict the further expansion and establishment of these parasites, a better understanding of the distribution, diversity and abundance of terrestrial gastropods on Victoria Island was needed. However, a description of the efficacy of gastropod sampling techniques on the tundra was lacking. Therefore, my research describes the first strategic sampling framework for assessing gastropod ecology in the Arctic. Additionally, I analyzed the influence of extrinsic factors on gastropod capture ...