Changing diversity of mollusks in Zion Canyon: Is this fauna recovering from a prehistoric flood?
Hamilton WL. 1994. Changing diversity of mollusks in Zion Canyon: Is this fauna recovering from a prehistoric flood?. Park Science. 14(4):22–24
The author accidentally discovered valuable information in an old file of snail data for Zion National Park. In addition to being a source of information on paleoenvironments, the list of 15 species collected for the park museum in 1929 provides a basis for comparison with later collections (described in this paper). The documented changes in the mollusk fauna lead to the author's hypothesis of a large flood on the North Fork of the Virgin River early in the century. The paper discusses interactions between mollusks and other fauna (birds, mammals, fish), and the significance of mollusks in the ecology of the area. The author recommends further monitoring to test his hypothesis, as an index of pollution, and also to watch for incursion of exotic species. In particular, Helix aspersa was near the park borders in irrigation ditches during the late 1980's, and could easily become a problem in the park. Bibliography (13 references).
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hamilton, Wayne
- Units
- NRSS , ZION
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Aquatic Studies, Flood Management/History, Floods, fossil snails, History, Inventory, Invertebrates, Management, mollusk, Mollusks, Monitoring, Paleontology, Snails, Zion National Park