Endangered Species Protection Sought for Pacific Northwest Snails & Slugs

In Portland, the Center for Biological Diversity along with four other conservation groups, are seeking Endangered Species Protection for 32 species of snails and slugs that live in old-growth forests, according to ENN. While these animals aren’t high on the food chain, they are an important part of the ecosystem and, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, “protecting them will help protect the environmental integrity of the Pacific Northwest.”

Apparently these animals have fallen through the cracks left by conservation program eliminations that have occurred under the Bush administration and their habitat is diminishing. In a press release, The Center for Biological Diversity explained the importance of protecting these species:

The Bush administration’s attacks on protections for Pacific Northwest old-growth forests are endangering hundreds of species, necessitating their protection under the Endangered Species Act.

With names like cinnamon juga, hoko vertigo, and knobby rams-horn, the petitioned species include 13 land snails, two slugs, 15 spring snails, and two river snails. All were recommended for Endangered Species Act protection by scientific experts concerned about their survival. The mollusks are very rare and many have such limited distributions that they could be extirpated by a single habitat-disturbing activity; fifteen of the species are known from 10 or fewer sites, and seven of them are found in only one or two locations.

Aquatic snails and terrestrial snails and slugs are a critical link in the food web because they consume microorganisms and forest floor litter and are then eaten by birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, and other invertebrates. They contribute to water quality and soil- and water-nutrient cycling and act as dispersers for mushrooms and other fungi. Empty snail shells are used for housing and egg-laying sites by other insects, and the reproductive cycle of many insects are dependent on snails that serve as parasitic hosts. Because they are extremely sensitive to pollution, mollusks serve as indicators of overall environmental health.

You can read the full petition here (in PDF) and see some pictures of the snails and slugs. For more, visit Center for Biological Diversity

Via ENN