Effects of Rock Climbing on the Land Snail Community of the Niagara Escarpment in Southern Ontario, Canada

The cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment provide habitat for extremely diverse communities of land snails that may be at risk as a result of recreational rock climbing. We examined the effects of rock climbing on the density, richness, diversity, and community composition of snails on the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario, Canada. We sampled from randomly selected climbed and unclimbed sections of cliffs on the plateau ( cliff edge ), cliff face, and talus ( cliff base ). Snail density, richness, and diversity were lower along climbing routes than in unclimbed areas, and community composition differed between climbed and unclimbed samples. These results suggest that rock climbing has significant negative effects on all aspects of the snail community on cliffs; therefore, we recommend the inclusion of gastropods in conservation plans for protected areas containing cliffs.