Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Description
- Very small (3-6 mm long) aquatic snail native to New Zealand
- Elongated, cone shaped shell is light–dark brown and consists of 5–6 right-handed whorls
- Colonizes a wide range of habitats including rivers, lakes, streams, estuaries, reservoirs, lagoons, canals, ditches, and even water tanks; thrives in disturbed watersheds
- Can withstand moderate desiccation and drought for several days facilitating survival during overland transport of watercraft
Consequences of invasion
- High reproductive rates and an ability to avoid predation enable establishment of very dense populations
- Competes with and displaces native invertebrates
- Alters aquatic ecosystem dynamics
- Threatens fisheries in locations where it has established
- Can clog water pipes and irrigation systems
- Reproduce rapidly by asexual means so a single individual can be sufficient to create a new population
Integrated pest management options
- Once established, eradication is improbable in most locations
- Spread to new locations is the result of human activity so Clean, Drain, and Dry watercraft and associated equipment, including waders, before entering into another body of water