Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biology
Reader 1
Wallace Meyer III
Reader 2
Findley Finseth
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
The Hawaiian archipelago once harbored over 759 species of land snails (>99% endemic) and estimates suggest that >65% of these species are extinct. Arboreal snail species are believed to feed on microbes (bacteria and fungi) on plant surfaces, but the distributions of these microbes are poorly described, with ramifications for conservation efforts like captive rearing. Here, we investigated microbial assemblages across elevations, plant species, and mountain ranges on Oʻahu to inform conservation decisions on where to access vegetation to feed captively reared snails. We found that bacterial and fungal assemblages differ across elevations, most plant species, and between the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau mountain ranges while controlling for plant species. Analogous to previous studies, bacterial assemblages are best explained by plant species while fungal assemblages are best explained by elevation in the Koʻolau. Additionally, we found that several microbial species previously identified as potentially important for snail feeding drive differences between assemblages across elevations. Further work is needed to elucidate the effects of using plants from different elevations on captively reared snails’ fitness and fecundity, and our study suggests that we should exercise caution by collecting vegetation from high elevations to feed captively reared snails until we better understand the food resources which Hawaiian land snails need.
Recommended Citation
Waldman, Lily R., "Assessing Differences in Epiphytic Microbial Assemblages Across Elevations, Plant Species, and Mountain Ranges on Oʻahu: Implications for Endangered Hawaiian Land Snails" (2025). Scripps Senior Theses. 2908.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2908
