The enlightened snails of the Anthropocene

Land snails are decomposers, common secondary hosts for parasites, and preys to many species in trophic networks. Nevertheless, they often constitute an overlooked component of ecosystems and relatively little is known about they deal with and adapt to novel environmental conditions. We are studying how land snails cope with extreme and artificial light conditions, and whether such conditions can act as a selective pressure and drive local adaptation of populations. We have two fronts of study.
First, we are interested in how artificial light at night (light pollution) affects land snails/slugs. Change in light, thermal and humidity cues are expected to affect individual decisions, possibly inducing higher mortality or lower reproduction, which may eventually fuel eco-evolutionary feedbacks and drive the differentiation between urban and more rural populations. Second, we want to understand how animals cope with the extreme light conditions of the Arctic Circle (i.e., 24h daylight during summer) and if that can be a barrier for colonization of species moving northwards due to climate change. Our model species for this study is the copse snail (Arianta arbustorum).

Our research involves mainly the experimental study of daily rhythms, with ample room for including behavioural tests (activity, food preference, etc.) and/or physiological tests (cold tolerance, desiccation, etc.).
The study is a collaboration between the Artic University of Norway (UIT) in Tromsø, the Finnish Museum of Natural History in Helsinki, and LEHNA at Lyon 1 university. The internship work will take place in Tromsø. Owing to its duration, the internship is more intended for master 2 students.

Planned tasks: Preparing and conducting experiments, participating to husbandry
Duration: 6 months
Period: March-August (can be adjusted)

Contacts:
– Barbara Mizumo Tomotani : barbara.m.tomotani@uit.no , https://btomotani.wordpress.com/
– Jean Secondi, jean.secondi@univ-angers.fr, https://jean-secondi.jimdofree.com

Funding information: Students may apply for Erasmus mobility grant for funding. To qualify for housing students and be accepted as a student at the UiT, registration at the UiT will be requested