Fighting extinction is an enormous task, but researchers at SUNY-ESF have made progress to save a small species of snails in the battle against biodiversity loss.

Recent graduate Cody Gilbertson led a successful breeding program in the Rundell Lab at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, helping bring the ovate amber snail back from the brink of extinction.

Found only in New York’s Chittenango Falls State Park, scientists feared a single natural disaster could wipe out the entire species. But thanks to long hours in the lab spent feeding, breeding and preparing ovate amber snails for release into the wild, the Rundell Lab released snails in September.

Biodiversity loss is accelerating, and many of the species being lost are small — one-fifth of invertebrates are at risk of extinction — according to the Zoological Society of London. When added together, this loss of biodiversity is a serious threat to ecological stability.

Diversity in an environment makes it more likely that if one species declines, another will be able to carry out its same function. Gilbertson likened individual species to puzzle pieces, each with its own role to play in an ecosystem.

“If you have one or two pieces missing you can still make out the full picture, but if you start losing hundreds of pieces, it’s impossible,” Gilbertson said.

If people continue to focus only on more well-known species, the disappearance of animals like the ovate amber snail will eventually add up to a significant reduction in biodiversity harmful to both the natural world and humans, researchers said.

Although they may go unnoticed, Gilbertson said invertebrates, or inverts, “collectively do a lot of work.” They pollinate the flowers of food crops, recycle soil nutrients critical to healthy forests and farms and act as food sources for other organisms.

“Humans could not possibly compensate for the work of millions of inverts working everyday,” Gilbertson said.

Rebecca Rundell, assistant professor at SUNY-ESF, said she hopes students will start to take an interest in protecting “the obscure and often tiny organisms that truly make the world go round.”

“If we don’t save the little things, where do we draw the line?” said James Gibbs, professor of conservation biology and director of the Roosevelt Wildlife Station.

Gilbertson said she thinks the ovate amber snail can be charismatic too, and Gibbs added it’s impossible not to fall in love with the creatures once you get to know them.

Both Gilbertson and Gibbs said they believe education is very important in helping raise awareness and getting people to connect with species like the ovate amber snail.

Published on October 3, 2017 at 12:25 am

Contact Maizy: mtludden@syr.edu