Population density of snails in central zone of Kashmir valley

This study represents first of its kind to determine population density of snails in terms man hour collection/m2 (MHC/m2) in the Central Zone of Kashmir valley during August 2017-July 2018. Central zone of Kashmir valley comprises of 3 districts namely Budgam, Ganderbal and Srinagar. Snails were collected from different locations and based on morphological features were identified as Radix lagotis, Radix brevicauda, Lymnaea luteola, Lymnaea stagnalis, Lymnaea auricularia, Indoplanorbis exustus, Bithynia troscheli, Physa acuta, Gyraulus ladacensis, Gyraulus pankogensis and one unidentified snail. Overall mean population density in terms of MHC/m2 for occurrence of snails was reported highest for Physa acuta snails (6.36±1.52), followed by Lymnaea snails other than L. stagnalis (4.69±1.07), Lymnaea stagnalis (3.83±0.89), Gyraulus spp. (3.25±0.88), Indoplanorbis exustus (2.25±0.94), Bithynia troscheli (2.13±0.98) and lowest for unidentified snail (0.31±0.31), the difference being statistically significant (p 0.05) between Lymnaea stagnalis, Lymnaea snails other than L. stagnalis, Indoplanorbis exustus, Bithynia troscheli, and Gyraulus spp. Overall mean population density of all snails was observed highest in district Ganderbal followed by district Budgam and lowest for district Srinagar, the difference being statistically non significant (p> 0.05) for all snails between districts. Mean seasonal density of snails in terms of MHC/m2 for district Budgam was reported highest in summer season followed by spring, autumn and lowest in winter season. For district Ganderbal, mean seasonal density of snails was reported highest in summer season followed by autumn, spring and lowest in winter season except for Indoplanorbis exustus and unidentified snail which showed higher density in summer followed by the spring season. In district Srinagar, mean seasonal density of snails was reported highest in summer season followed by spring, autumn and lowest in winter season except for Indoplanorbis exustus and unidentified snail which were reported in the spring and summer seasons only and Bithynia troscheli which showed higher density in summer and similar densities in autumn and spring seasons. Lymnaea stagnalis, Lymnaea snails other than L. stagnalis and Physa acuta were reported in winter season also and in all the 3 districts. This study is helpful in determining the prevalence of freshwater snails in the area which would furnish more information regarding the prevalence of trematode parasites in a particular region. This would further help in formulating control measures against economically important parasitic diseases of livestock prevalent in the area.