Non-indigenous land and freshwater gastropods in Israel

Few comprehensive works have investigated non-indigenous snails and slugs as a group. We compiled a database of non-indigenous gastropods in Israel to explore how they arrived and spread, characteristics of their introduction, and their biological traits. Fifty-two species of introduced gastropods are known from Israel (of which nine species subsequently went extinct): 19 species of freshwater snails and 33 species of terrestrial gastropods. The majority of these species are found only in human-dominated habitats. Most of those found in natural habitats are aquatic species. Most snails are introduced unintentionally from various parts of the Holoarctic region, reaching Israel as stowaways with horticultural imports and the aquarium trade, but some are brought intentionally to be used as pets or for food. Because the study of this group in Israel is very limited, information regarding their distribution in the country and their effects on other species is incomplete. Though only nine species of non-indigenous snails have been found to date in natural habitats, some of these are very abundant. More information and research is required to enable effective management schemes.