Partulina mighelsiana, photograph by David Sischo founder and current director of the SEPP
Actions taken
Snail enclosures
The Rosy Wolfsnail (Euglandina rosea), one of the main causes of Hawaiian snail extinction
One of the ways the SEPP tries to save those rare snails is by keeping them in an fenced and constantly monitored enclosure in the Hawaiian forest that keeps them away from invasive snails, such as the Rosy Wolfsnail[Note 2] and other introduced predators, such as the Jackson's chameleon, the land flatwormPlatydemus manokwari, and black rats.[1][6]
Enclosure walls
Platydemus manokwari, a predatory flatworm that poses a threat to Hawaiian snails
The walls of the SEPP snail enclosures includes a smooth lined wall to prevent chameleons,[3] a steel fence, protected with a rim to ensure wolfsnails do not climb over the fence.[1] Behind the steel fence, there are electric wires to prevent any wolfsnails that do get in from swallowing the native snails whole.[1][3]
Lab snails
The Jackson's Chameleon, one of the invasive species that eat Hawaiian tree snails
In 2018 Hurricane Lane approached the lab and the snails that lived in the lab had to be evacuated.[1][10] There are ongoing concerns about future evacuation problems since as of 2022 there are over five thousand snails living in the lab, while there were fewer snails living in the lab in 2020.[1][10][11][12][Note 3]
Achatinella pupukanioe
The black rat, one of the invasive species that eat native snails.
In 2015, the SEPP team found a tree full of Achatinella pupukanioe,[External link 1] a species thought to be extinct since the 1980s. The SEPP decided to leave them alone, but later when they went to collect the snails for the lab they were gone, possibly swallowed whole by rosy wolfsnails.[1][13][14]
^Bezan, Sarah; McKay, Robert, eds. (2022). Animal remains. Perspectives on the non-human in literature and culture. London New York: Routledge. ISBN978-1-000-50648-8.
_under_the_Tree_House_(15858296885).jpg)
