Relationships among Body Traits of African Giant Land Snail (Achachatina Marginata) at Different Age Groups
The experiment designed to investigate the various body parameters of African Giant Land Snail and their relationships was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti state University, Ado – Ekiti between 21st of November 2011 and 2nd of January 2012 using a total of 182 snails of four different age groups defined as >2 years; >1year6months < 1 year and <6months. The variables examined include whole weight, whorl number, whorl length and shell opening. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA, correlation and regression analyses using SPSS statistical package. Results showed significant (p < 0.05) differences between age and all the parameters investigated except whorl number in all the age groups. The correlation between age and whorl length showed that there was significant effect (p < 0.05) among the variables. A negative correlation between the whorl number and shell opening (-0.14) was recorded. The regression of whole weight on whorl length and shell opening were highly significant (p<0.01) with R2 values of 0.67 in both cases while the regression of whole weight on whorl number was significant (p<0.05) with R2 value of 0.19. Conclusively, age and weight of African Giant Snail have significant effects on the body measurements..
