Mercy Ndalila

Land Snails of Shimba Hills National Reserve:: Their Distribution, Diversity and Some Aspects of Ecology Mercy Ndalila

This book is a summary of work done in 2007/2008 covering three seasons at Shimba Hills National Reserve, Kenya with an aim of investigating influence of habitat type, season and microhabitat characteristics on the diversity and distribution of land snails. The work was made necessary by the realisation that knowledge on some taxonomic groups has largely been unknown in several biodiversity rich ecosystems of Kenya. This work is therefore meant to enhance biological knowledge of land snails, which have not been scientifically studied at the reserve. Molluscs were sampled using standardized protocols, yielding 28 species, a majority of them having been recorded in the wet season. The natural forest had the highest diversities of land snails compared to other habitat types emphasising the role the forest plays in conservation of land snails. This information is relevant to conservationists,researchers and nature-lovers.