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The spatial response of non-marine Mollusca to past climate changes

  • Conference paper
Past and Future Rapid Environmental Changes

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 47))

Abstract

There is a popular, even proverbial, belief that since snails move so slowly they are unlikely to disperse over any great distance and certainly not with any rapidity. In this review I will demonstrate that enormous distributional shifts have occurred in the geographical range of many species and that such movements can occur with surprising rapidity. The discussion will focus on four main topics. First, examples are given of some recent rapid distributional increases that should dispel the notion that snails are poor colonizers. Second, the diverse biogeographical composition of molluscan assemblages from the Middle Pleistocene of NW Europe are discussed, which show that huge distributional changes occurred after the major glaciations of the Anglian/Elsterian Stage. Third, the compositions of typical cold stage faunas are outlined and the reasons for the elimination of some arctic-alpine elements during the early Holocene discussed. Fourth, faunal successions during the Holocene itself are discussed and compared with vegetational records. The role of climate and other potential factors that may have caused the spatial reorganization of molluscan assemblages are also assessed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Richard C. Preece

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  1. Richard C. Preece
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Research Centre, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, DH1 3LE, Durham, UK

    Brian Huntley  & Judy R. M. Allen  & 

  2. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg, P.O. Box 6012 03, D-14412, Potsdam, Germany

    Wolfgang Cramer

  3. Quaternary Sciences Institute, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Alan V. Morgan

  4. Department of Systematic Botany, Lund University, Östra Vallgatan 18-20, S-223 61, Lund, Sweden

    Honor C. Prentice

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Preece, R.C. (1997). The spatial response of non-marine Mollusca to past climate changes. In: Huntley, B., Cramer, W., Morgan, A.V., Prentice, H.C., Allen, J.R.M. (eds) Past and Future Rapid Environmental Changes. NATO ASI Series, vol 47. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60599-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60599-4_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61877-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-60599-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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