Species Composition and Abundance of Freshwater Snails in Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State

Abstract

Freshwater water snail intermediate hosts play an active role in the transmission of trematode parasites. The study assessed 4 water bodies in Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria to assess the freshwater snails’ composition and abundance between January and June 2022. A total of 123 snails including Bulinus globosus, Bulinus truncatus, Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Lymnaea natalensis, Pila ovata, Potadoma moerchii, and Lanistes lybicus were collected from 4 water bodies in Omor. Snail sampling was done using scoop net for 45 minutes. They were screened individually for patent infection through exposure to sunlight for 2 hours in a petri-dish that contains distilled water and checked for cercarial shedding in the laboratory under a dissecting microscope. Snails were identified using a malacological guide. Bi. pfeifferi (21.14%) account for the highest, followed by B. globosus (19.51%), and the least is Pila ovata (6.5%). Cercariae infection in snail hosts shows B. globosus (42.86%) with the highest infection rate, followed by Bi. pfeifferi (28.57%), B. truncatus (14.29%) with a very high significant difference in the prevalence (p<0.001). pH (r= 0.982), temperature (r= 0.607), acidity (r= 0.975), and conductivity (r= 0.921) correlated positively with snails’ abundance following physico-chemical parameter assessment. The study underscores the important role of vegetation in the snail habitat and also established the presence of freshwater snails in the focal streams in Omor, most of which are known vectors of schistosomiasis and other snail-borne disease.