Associations between tree snails and corticolous lichens in a secondary forest in eastern Cuba/Asociaciones entre moluscos arborícolas y líquenes cortícolas en un bosque secundario de Cuba oriental

Abstract

Snail-lichen interactions have received little attention in tropical ecosystems. Here, we studied the species richness of corticolous lichens with snail grazing traces on host trees inhabited by the Cuban tree snails, Polymita venusta, Liguus fasciatus and Hemitrochus lucipeta at La Rinconada, eastern Cuba. We sampled lichen specimens from ground level to 2 m, on the trunks of 15 host trees of eight species, in a 6 000 m² forest patch, in April 2012. In addition, we sampled snail feces from the three snail species. Most of the tree snail and lichen species were associated with a tree species usually with smooth bark, Senna atomaria. We found 30 lichen species, of which 19 were identified to species, three to genus, and eight remain undetermined. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and χ2 tests showed that the three snail species had different associations with lichen species. Liguus fasciatus is associated with Physcia sorediosa and P. aipolia; H. lucipeta is associated with Platythecium grammitis and an unknown lichen, and P. venusta is associated with Buellia spuria and Chrysothrix candelaris. Evidence from snail grazing damage on lichen species, together with ingested spores from six species, suggested that L. fasciatus and P. venusta are generalist herbivores.