Small is beautiful: DNA, evolution, and conservation of minute snails from Se Asian limestone hills

Schilthuizen, Menno. (2001) Small is beautiful: DNA, evolution, and conservation of minute snails from Se Asian limestone hills. [Proceedings Paper]

Isolated limestone hills form a distinctive element in the landscape of large parts of Southeast Asia. Malaysia, for example, has some five hundred such hills, some as small as a house, and each surrounded by more acidic, non-calciferous soils. These conditions contribute towards a high degree of endemism. Many hills carry their own species, which occur nowhere else in the world. This situation reaches its pinnacle in sedentary organisms with high calcium requirements, such as land snails. Probably more than half of all species of land snails of the region live only on limestone hills. Moreover, again more than half of the limestone-dwelling species are restricted to a single hill. Consequently, molluscan biodiversity in Malaysia is very much concentrated in a habitat that comprises less than one percent of the total land surface. Unfortunately, the limestone hills are very vulnerable as well, as they are prone to destructive exploitation by quarrying and disturbance from agricultural activities in their surroundings. In this paper, I will show how molecular studies can give us an insight into the evolution of the staggering molluscan biodiversity of Malaysian limestone hills. Knowledge of their evolution in turn highlights the importance of preserving as large a number of hills as possible, as a heritage of a "natural laboratory of evolution."

Full text available from:

Abstract

Isolated limestone hills form a distinctive element in the landscape of large parts of Southeast Asia. Malaysia, for example, has some five hundred such hills, some as small as a house, and each surrounded by more acidic, non-calciferous soils. These conditions contribute towards a high degree of endemism. Many hills carry their own species, which occur nowhere else in the world. This situation reaches its pinnacle in sedentary organisms with high calcium requirements, such as land snails. Probably more than half of all species of land snails of the region live only on limestone hills. Moreover, again more than half of the limestone-dwelling species are restricted to a single hill. Consequently, molluscan biodiversity in Malaysia is very much concentrated in a habitat that comprises less than one percent of the total land surface. Unfortunately, the limestone hills are very vulnerable as well, as they are prone to destructive exploitation by quarrying and disturbance from agricultural activities in their surroundings. In this paper, I will show how molecular studies can give us an insight into the evolution of the staggering molluscan biodiversity of Malaysian limestone hills. Knowledge of their evolution in turn highlights the importance of preserving as large a number of hills as possible, as a heritage of a "natural laboratory of evolution."

[error in script]

Item Type:	Proceedings Paper
Additional Information:	Available at Perpustakaan Sultan Abdul Samad, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43000 UPM Serdang, Malaysia.Call Number QH75 A1I61 2000
AGROVOC Term:	limestone
AGROVOC Term:	land snails
AGROVOC Term:	biodiversity conservation
AGROVOC Term:	endemism
AGROVOC Term:	soil sampling
AGROVOC Term:	DNA
AGROVOC Term:	genecology
Geographical Term:	Malaysia
Depositing User:	Ms. Azariah Hashim
Date Deposited:	09 Sep 2024 06:23
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2024 06:23
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1164

Actions (login required)

View Item