-->PONE-D-25-23398-->-->Assessing Hidden Pesticide Impacts on Achatinadae Snail Harvesting: Harvester Perspectives from Cameroon’s Atlantic agricultural zone-->

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Enangue Njembele,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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ACADEMIC EDITOR:   The authors should revise the manuscript in accordance to the comments of the reviewers with take care to statistical analysis.

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Please submit your revised manuscript by Nov 01 2025 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Shawky M Aboelhadid, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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3. If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise.

Additional Editor Comments:

Reviewer #1:

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Partly

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: No

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The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: No

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: MAJOR CONCERNS

1. Clarity of Research Question and Objectives

The abstract and introduction mention “perceptions of harvesters on pesticide impacts,” but the paper sometimes shifts toward reporting socio-demographic patterns or ecological details without clearly tying them back to pesticides. The objectives need sharper focus. Right now, it feels like two papers mixed: one on socio-economic aspects of snail harvesting and another on pesticide perceptions.

2. Scientific Rigor and Analysis

Statistical tests are applied broadly but not always appropriately interpreted. For example:

Reporting a regression model that explains only 6.5% of variance without discussing its weak explanatory power makes the analysis seem overstated.

The Chi-square, ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis tests show mostly non-significant results, but the discussion sometimes still draws strong conclusions from them.

The reliance on “perceptions” of pesticide impacts is valuable socially, but the paper sometimes writes as if these perceptions represent ecological reality. The distinction between “belief” and “measured effect” must be consistently clear.

3. Methodology and Sampling

The sampling description is confusing. It says “multistage random sampling,” but in practice, it looks more like purposive or stratified site selection. The authors should clarify how participants were recruited and whether the sample is representative.

The description of regression variables (Table 2) is messy, with redundancies and some unclear coding (e.g., “Age in year 1 < 30; 2–30–40; 3–40–50; 3–50–60; 4 ≥ 70” is inconsistent).

4. Writing Quality and Organization

The manuscript is verbose, with repetition across sections. For example, the nocturnal activity of snails is mentioned in Methods, Results, and Discussion, each time at length. This could be streamlined.

The figures are referenced but not always well-integrated into the argument. Many simply restate percentages without adding interpretation.

English grammar and phrasing need careful editing. Terms like “snails’ collection” should be revised to “snail collection.”

5. Novelty and Contribution

The study is positioned as ecotoxicological but actually relies only on human perceptions. Without direct measurement of pesticide residues or snail health, the claim of “assessing hidden pesticide impacts” feels overstated. The contribution is more socio-cultural than ecological. The authors should reframe the scope honestly.

MINOR CONCERNS

Abstract: The phrase “with more involved in nocturnal collection which the most favorable harvesting period” is grammatically incorrect. Needs revision.

Introduction: References to “Achatinadae” should be corrected to Achatinidae throughout.

Methods: Figures and tables should have consistent formatting and professional captions. Right now, some captions read like rough notes.

Results: Percentages sometimes don’t add up or lack denominators (e.g., October recorded 63% of what exactly?). Clarify whether this is proportion of harvesters or harvest volume.

Discussion: Several cultural interpretations (e.g., Toupouri ethnic habits) are interesting but speculative. These need either references or cautious phrasing.

References: Some citations are incomplete (e.g., missing page ranges or inconsistent formatting).

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

This manuscript has potential because it looks at an under-studied topic: local knowledge of pesticide impacts on edible snails in Cameroon. The dataset is unique and the issue is relevant for food security and public health.

But right now, the manuscript overreaches in its claims and suffers from methodological and writing issues. To be publishable, it needs:

A tighter framing of objectives.

Clearer and more accurate reporting of statistical results.

A reorientation away from “ecotoxicology” toward “perception and socio-economic study” unless the authors add direct ecological data.

Substantial editing for language, flow, and consistency.

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Reviewer #1: Yes:   Dr. Mohammad Wasim Aktar

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Reviewers Comments-PONE-D-25-23398.docx

-->PONE-D-25-23398R1-->-->Harvester Perceptions of Pesticide Risks in Snail Collection along Cameroon’s Atlantic Coast-->-->PLOS One

Dear Dr. Enangue Njembele,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Jun 15 2026 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:-->

• A letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

-->

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

As the corresponding author, your ORCID iD is verified in the submission system and will appear in the published article. PLOS supports the use of ORCID, and we encourage all coauthors to register for an ORCID iD and use it as well. Please encourage your coauthors to verify their ORCID iD within the submission system before final acceptance, as unverified ORCID iDs will not appear in the published article. Only   the individual author can complete the verification step; PLOS staff cannot   verify ORCID iDs on behalf of authors.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Xiaoshan Zhu, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Journal Requirements:

1. If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise.

2. Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

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-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #2: This introduction effectively situates the study within a relevant and interdisciplinary context, linking pesticide use along Cameroon’s Atlantic coast to potential ecological and public health risks for snail harvesters. The authors make a strong case for examining harvesters’ perceptions as an early warning tool where formal monitoring is absent. However, the introduction suffers from several conceptual and logical weaknesses that require minor revision. First, “perception” is not defined or operationalised, leaving it unclear whether the study refers to awareness of pesticide presence, observed snail declines, or health concerns. Second, the argument moves too directly from “pesticides harm snails” to “harvesters should perceive risks” without considering mediating factors such as visibility of contamination or local knowledge. Third, the research gap is stated vaguely (“limited monitoring”) and could be sharpened by clarifying that no previous perception-based study exists for snails in this region. Finally, key terms such as “harvesters” (e.g., subsistence vs. commercial collectors) and the sociopolitical unrest driving migration deserve brief specification.

Reviewer #3: General comments

The revised manuscript has been improved and is now more clearly framed as a perception-based socio-economic study rather than a direct ecotoxicological assessment. The topic is relevant and provides useful local information on pesticide risk perception, snail harvesting practices, and sustainable resource use along Cameroon’s Atlantic coast. Overall, the manuscript may be considered for publication after minor revision.

Specific comments

1. Please ensure consistency between the ethics statement in the submission form and that in the manuscript, especially since the study involved interviews with adult participants and verbal informed consent.

2. The sampling and recruitment procedure should be described a little more clearly, including the distinction between market-based recruitment and community nomination, as well as the potential limitation of purposive sampling.

3. The statistical analysis section could be simplified and clarified. Please specify which statistical tests correspond to which research questions and avoid overemphasizing weak associations, particularly given the low explanatory power of the regression model.

4. Please carefully check all figure numbers, captions, and in-text references to ensure consistency and avoid mismatches.

5. The Discussion and Conclusion should continue to clearly state that the findings are based on harvesters’ perceptions and self-reported experiences, not on direct measurements of pesticide residues, snail abundance, or ecological toxicity.

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Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?   For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

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<p>Harvester Perceptions of Pesticide Risks in Snail Collection along Cameroon’s Atlantic Coast

PONE-D-25-23398R2

Dear Dr. Enangue Njembele,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Xiaoshan Zhu, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

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-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #2: The authors have addressed all my previous concerns thoroughly in the revised manuscript. I have no further comments or suggestions.

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

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Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review?   For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.-->

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

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