Predicting the distribution of the Chinese mystery snail, Cipangopaludina chinensis, a potentially invasive, non-indigenous species, in Atlantic Canada

Abstract

The Chinese mystery snail, Cipangopaludina chinensis, a freshwater mollusc indigenous to Eastern Asia, introduced to North America and Europe. Currently, little is known about C. chinensis in North America. My thesis objectives were to: (1) synthesize relevant literature and confirm whether C. chinensis should be considered invasive in North America, (2) determine the known species occurrence in continental North America highlighting reporting gaps, and (3) create a species distribution model for C. chinensis in the Maritimes. The literature review indicated that C. chinensis should be considered invasive in North America. The largest number of reported occurrences were in southern Ontario and northern US along the Great Lakes with the lowest in the Maritimes, the Prairies, Quebec, and near Lake Superior. Finally, a random forest model was developed to predict C. chinensis distribution in Nova Scotia, with highest probable occurrence in the Halifax-area, the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border, and Cape Breton.