It would make a great research project.  I did read once of a similar study
done with beach-washed shells.  It found (if I remember correctly) that a
cowrie lost its gloss within 30 minutes of being loose (i.e. dead) in wave
tossed beach sand.  Obviously, if buried, wedged between rocks, claimed by a
hermit crab, or otherwise protected, the rate of dissolution would be much
slower.  I have watched this with nerite shells in an aquarium and they do
not last much beyond a year.

Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA

-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Harry G. Lee
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 10:30 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CONCH-L] micromollusks in leaf litter


Here's a poser for most any collector of empty molluscan shells:

Has there been any experimental work to predict the rate of
(dis)solution of the empty shells of small (less than 5 mm.)
gastropod shells in leaf litter. Certainly pH and other factors exert
some influence on the process.

The answer may be helpful in relating the shells of a litters ample
to the fauna actually living in the immediate temporal and spatial vicinity.

Harry
Harry G. Lee, M. D.
4132 Ortega Forest Dr.
Jacksonville, FL 32210 USA
voice (904) 389 4049
email: [log in to unmask]
look at www.jaxshells.org

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