Diversity and ecology of terrestrial gastropods of the Kabylia region (northern Algeria)

Abstract

The snail and slug fauna of the Kabylia region (Bouira and Tizi-Ouzou) was studied during the years 2018/2019 and 2020/2021, focusing on seven stations belonging to three altitudinal levels (low, middle, and high altitude). A total of 5111 individuals were collected and 29 species were identified, with confirmation of the existence of Leiostyla anglica in the Kabylia region. Our results showed that altitude has a significant effect on the distribution and abundance of terrestrial gastropods in the study area – the low-altitude sites had the highest number of species (S = 21), while the high-altitude sites had the lowest species richness (S = 10).

Keywords

• snails
• slugs
• altitudinal distribution
• bouira
• tizi-ouzou