Diversidad de los caracoles terrestres en una zona caliza amenazada cercana a Estambul, Turquía

The limestone meadows located to the north–northwest of Istanbul, Turkey, are in danger of being overrun by the rapidly expanding city. Past surveys showed that these habitats harbor rare plant species, including endemics to Turkey. To further evaluate the conservation value of these habitats, especially in terms of the often neglected invertebrates, one limestone area to the north of Küçükçekmece Lake and surrounding Sazlidere Dam was surveyed for land snails. Our findings strengthen the case for the protection of these unique habitats. Twenty–four species of land snails were identified in the survey area. Of these, 21 are native to Turkey, including three whose type location is Istanbul. In addition, two species that are at or near the limits of their ranges are considered to represent peripheral populations that may be especially worth conserving. Although the area surrounding Sazlidere Dam is under protection, the other limestone habitats are severely threatened by ongoing development.Las praderas calcáreas situadas al NNO de Estambul están en peligro de ser rápidamente invadidas por la ciudad en expansión. Estudios anteriores demostraron que estos hábitats albergan especies vegetales raras, incluyendo algunos endemismos turcos. Con objeto de seguir evaluando el valor conservativo de dichos hábitats, en especial en cuanto a los invertebrados, a menudo ignorados, se han estudiado los caracoles terrestres de una zona calcárea al norte del lago Küçükçekmece y alrededor de la presa Sazlidere. Nuestros descubrimientos enfatizan la necesidad de una política de protección de estos hábitats únicos. En el área estudiada se identificaron 24 especies de caracoles terrestres. De ellas, 21 son nativas de Turquía, incluyendo tres cuya localización tipo es Estambul. Además, se considera que dos especies que se hallan en o cerca de los límites de su zona de distribución representan poblaciones periféricas especialmente merecedoras de conservación. A pesar de que la zona que rodea a la presa Sazlidere está protegida, el resto de los hábitats calcáreos está muy amenazado por el creciente desarrollo

Land snail diversity in a threatened limestone district near Istanbul, Turkey

The limestone meadows located to the north­-northwest of Istanbul, Turkey, are in danger of being overrun by the rapidly expanding city. Past surveys showed that these habitats harbor rare plant species, including endemics to Turkey. To further evaluate the conservation value of these habitats, especially in terms of the often neglected invertebrates, one limestone area to the north of Küçükçekmece Lake and surrounding Sazlidere Dam was surveyed for land snails. Our findings strengthen the case for the protection of these unique habitats. Twenty­-four species of land snails were identified in the survey area. Of these, 21 are native to Turkey, including three whose type location is Istanbul. In addition, two species that are at or near the limits of their ranges are considered to represent peripheral populations that may be especially worth conserving. Although the area surrounding Sazlidere Dam is under protection, the other limestone habitats are severely threatened by ongoing development

Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Helicidae, <i>Cepaea nemoralis</i> (Linnaeus, 1758): New records for Montreal, Canada

The European land snail Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus, 1758) was introduced in North America in 1857 inBurlington, New Jersey, U.S.A. There is only one anedoctal record of C. nemoralis from Montreal, Canada, but without a dateor an exact location. In this note, recent records of C. nemoralis are presented for Montreal, based on surveys from 7 to 9August 2009 along a southwest to northeast transect parallel to the Montreal-Dorion-Rigaud commuter railroad

Early research on anatomy and mating of land slugs and snails: Francesco Redi's (1684) Osservazioni

In 1684 the Italian scientist Francesco Redi published one of the first detailed studies on land gastropods. It included the mating and functional anatomy of limacid slugs, functional anatomy of helicid snails and morpho-anatomical comparisons of land and marine slugs and snails. His research was based on a few marine species (an unidentified gastropod, the neogastropod Hexaplex trunculus and aplysiid opisthobranchs), several land snails (including the large helicid Helix lucorum) and some limacid slugs (probably different species of the Limax corsicus group and perhaps Limacus flavus). Redi's investigations are generally accurate and his description of slug mating is much more detailed than the earlier account by Martin Lister. However, his survey also contains minor oversights and mistakes: he did not identify major organs of mollusc anatomy (radula, salivary glands and certain genital structures), his illustration of mating slugs is unrealistic and he overlooked important anatomical differences between marine and land slugs. His most remarkable oversight is hermaphroditism: although he observed slug mating, knew that no differences existed between partners, and was probably aware of earlier literature on the androgynous nature of land snails, he failed to conclude that they are hermaphrodite

Multilayer Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Cyclodextrin Hosts on Bare and Modified Gold Substrates: Controlling Aggregation via Surface Modification

Self-assembled multilayers of the three modified cyclodextrins (hexakis(2,3-O-hexyl-6-deoxy-6-amino)-α-cyclodextrin (1), heptakis(2,3-O-hexyl-6-deoxy-6-amino)-β-cyclodextrin (2), and octakis(2,3-O-hexyl-6-deoxy-6-amino)-γ-cyclodextrin (3)) on bare gold, as well as on gold surfaces modified with mercaptopropionic (4) and mercaptooctanoic (5) acid, were investigated by cyclic voltammetric, contact angle, FT-IR, and quartz crystal microbalance measurements in neutral aqueous media. The level of organization of the aggregates formed by the three CD derivatives (1−3) on the negatively charged surface of the mercaptopropionic and mercaptooctanoic acid modified gold electrodes proved to be substantially better than that on bare gold electrodes. This finding suggests that although the amphiphilic character of compounds 1−3 can induce aggregation on a gold surface, the electrostatic interaction between the carboxylic acid groups and the positively charged cyclodextrins is the primary force leading to the formation of well-organized aggregates