Prospects and Problems of Snails Production in Nigeria

Firstly adult female brine shrimp ovulate approximately every 140 hours and in optimal conditions the fertilised eggs can almost immediately hatch, even over a relatively short lifetime of a year this is a lot of young. They have another brilliant reproductive adaption; while in extreme conditions, such as low oxygen level or salinity above 15‰, female brine shrimp produce eggs with a chorion coating which has a brown colour. These eggs, also known as cysts, are metabolically inactive and can remain in total stasis for two years while in dry oxygen-free conditions, even at temperatures below freezing. The shrimp have also been able to survive dangerous salinity levels as the eggs wait to hatch if the salinity levels are too high. Once placed back in briny water the eggs hatch within a few hours. This ability also has enabled them to spread the population by the eggs travelling on the feet of birds. They have also been known to reproduce asexually by parthenogenesis in the absence of

Now, as most may know sea turtles are both marine and land animals depending on what stage of life they are in. Which means that they need to be able to go on land during certain stages of their lives. One of the main reasons why a sea turtle will go on to land is to lay their eggs. Within the last few years this has become harder and harder for the already endangered species. It

Ocean acidification is an emerging global problem. In some parts of the Pacific, the ocean’s PH levels are so low, that its dissolving sea snails’ shells. Try saying that three times quickly. According to PMEL Carbon Program, the shells will go from completely normal, to nothing in just about 45 days at the moment. As the Oceans acidity increases, the

Humans have heavily affected sea turtle mortality rates, but one may ask what the benefit of having a stable and healthy population of sea turtles is. Sea turtles hold many important roles in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems where they are found. Along coasts where sea turtles are found nesting, beaches have been seen to have an increase in organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, and lipids (Bouchard 2000). This matter left by the sea turtle is in the forms of unhatched eggs and eggshells, which are then brought into the food chain through decomposers, such as beetles, or sea turtle predators, such as crabs (Bouchard 2000).

Biologists Robin Seeley conducted an experiment in which she gathered periwinkle snail shells on Appledore Island and measures their thickness. The time period in which she has found the snails was before the inhabitation of the European green crab. Eighty years later, the shell thickness of the snails were measured again and recorded. This time, the inhabitation of the european green crab has increased significantly and the thickness of the snail shells has increased. She has concluded that when the crabs arrived on the island, they began to eat the thin shelled snails because their shells were easier to crack.

Cepaea nemoralis, more common known as grove snail is one of the most abundant specie of land snail. It is native from west and north to central Europe but has later been introduced to North America and New Zealand (Cain & Sheppard 1953). Grove snails are highly adaptable to a various type of habitats, they can be found in open wood, shrubs, highlands, various types of forest and even urban conditions like roadsides. They were also located at 1800 meters altitude on the Pyrenees (Schultes n.d.).

Species possibly saved as a result of population management include the Koala, Partula snails, and Sarracenia alabamensis. The koala was experiencing a population decline in Australia which prompted an initiative known as the Koala Habitat Program. The goal of this program is to increase the size of the habitat for the koala. The Queensland Government has provided $22.5 million in funding to acquire new land (Queensland Government, 2014). The Partula snail is another species very critically endangered. As this species’ population recovers in captivity, the hope is to release them into the wild. This process has to be done carefully after the African land snail was imported to a small island in the Pacific and soon got out of control. This snail was eating the crops that grow on the island. Eventually, a second species of snail, the Florida rosy wolfsnail, was brought in to prey on the Partula snail to get the population under control (Marwell Wildlife, 2014). The Sarracenia Alabamensis, also known as the Cane-brake pitcher plant, was in need of a program to stabilize its population. This plant was endangered because it was located in areas where land was cheap to acquire and when the land was developed, it reduced the number of plants. The first program

All of these factors can lead these snails into extinction faster. Because they have low reproductive rates, they are more vulnerable towards predators. Also, the fact that these snails are extremely small at the time of birth, the time that it takes for them to be reproductively mature takes extensive nourishment and care using the resources of Hawaii’s atmosphere as a result of their delayed growth. Moreover, because Achatinella mustelina have a low fertility rate, the population is already decreasing to begin with, so they are not able to reproduce within a certain amount of time to create a significant population of O’ahu tree snails. In addition to the low maturity rate, habitat destruction kills the snails’ source of food such as plants and other viable food sources, as a result this lowers their growth rate. However, reallocating the snails from densely populated areas to less densely populated environments will allow for less competition and an increased population (Kobayashi & Hadfield, 1996, pg. 352). This solution can ensure that there is an even dispersal of species in order to decrease the extinction

Basically everything that is caused by humans has impacted these turtles. How can we help? First we need to protect the wetlands that are slowly being killed. “The greatest threats to the bog turtle are the loss and fragmentation of its habitat” as stated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service so, by slowing down the destruction of the wetlands we might create a better and bigger environment for the bog turtles. Next we need to identify the sources that are harming the turtles and the wetland habitats. This means we need to find the exact problem and fix it. Finally we need to restore the environment where the turtle used to live, and by doing this we can restore the turtle population back to non-endangered

Loggerhead eggs and hatchlings are a large food source for a variety of terrestrial animals, nearshore predatory fish, and seabirds, providing substantial amounts of energy and nutrients for these species (Wilson et al. 2010). A five or ten year period of loggerhead turtle declines may cause sublethal effects such as decreased growth rates or reproductive output for these predator species and a fifty year period of loggerhead turtle decline may potentially have more severe impacts such as significant declines for local populations that rely on eggs and hatchlings as a food source.

Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is a protected park in New Mexico located in the Chihuahuan desert around 20 miles north of Socorro, New Mexico. The Rio Salado flows through the refuge and is a tributary of the Rio Grande joining the Rio Grande just 15 miles north of Socorro, New Mexico. The refuge area currently hosts the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program by the University of New Mexico. While research into parasites in mammals and other species that habituate in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge has been done, there has not been any studies on snails and digenean parasites in the region. Understanding and mapping the physid snail and digenean parasite habitat could help estimate the biodiversity of the digenean

Unfortunately, freshwater snails like many other river species across North America are threatened. The abundance and variety of snails have dramatically declined over the last 80 years, especially those species that inhabit streams and rivers. Approximately 60 species of freshwater snails are presumed extinct, 20 are on the federal endangered or threatened species list, and another 290 species are of conservation concern nationwide. The decline of freshwater snails began in the early twentieth century. Dam construction and other channel modifications, siltation, and industrial and agricultural pollution have all degraded the river habitats on which most species depend. As a result, the species richness and the abundance of freshwater snails have declined dramatically. This decline has been especially pronounced in the Southeastern United States where these animals are most diverse. The continued loss and decline of freshwater snails and other river species are testament to the fact that despite significant water-quality improvements made in the last 25 years, much work remains if we are to halt species

Like all turtle species, human predation and collecting is a serious danger to their survival: Loggerhead eggs and the turtles themselves, are sold on the black market for food and their shells are used to make items such as boat paddles and helmets in some places (Hawkes, 2016). The black market is an illegal shop were people sell things that are prohibited to sell (Hawkes, 2016). They usually held in secret places where no one knows (Hawkes, 2016). Around 65% of Loggerhead Turtles are killed each year because of the black market (Nobs, 2004). People kill these poor, harmless animals just for profit and it need to stop (Marine Bio, 2015). But there e actually is no way to stop black markets, you can reduce them but you can’t stop it. This is because black markets are an idea and once an idea is out, you can’t reverse it and take it back. (Holden, 2014). If you were to stop this, the government of every state would need to basically go round their whole city/state and check every corner where there may be a black market, because if nothing gets done we will loose our precious creatures (Queach,

Sea turtle hatchlings are now having trouble finding their way to the sea because of all the lights from buildings that are built on the coast. They get disoriented when they are born and will wander in the wrong way away from the sea. This leads them to predators that live inland or will even cause the turtle to become dehydrated and die. Humans are also building coastal armoring that is blocking female turtles from reaching a suitable nesting habitat. This is a severe problem in Florida where they have many coastal rock elevations and sand bags. Where all this beach development is occurring thousands of sea turtles are trying to nest. Beach dredging is also having a direct effect on sea turtle's trying to nest. If the sand is too impacted or is drastically different from native beach sediment, the mother will have trouble creating the

Achatina fulica, commonly known as the giant African snail, is an invasive species native to Africa, of very large, air-breathing land snails that can reach up to 20 cm in length and 10 cm in diameter. The United States Department of Agriculture considers the Giant African Snail to be one of the most damaging species for the agriculture and crops in the country. It consumes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and is known to eat at least 500 different types of plants. The giant African snail is becoming a significant agricultural pest in the U.S., and can pose a serious health risk to humans. Possession of this snail is illegal in many countries, including the continental United States. This snail is listed as one of the top 100 invasive species in the world and large colonies of this species can be accumulated from just one individual. (Vázquez, Sánchez, Martínez, and Alba 2016)