Oahu Tree Snails

On the island of Oahu, there lives a group of snails found nowhere else in the world. They belong to the endemic Hawaiian family Achatinellidae. These small snails are isolated on Oahu's mountain ridges and have evolved through allopatric speciation into a multitude of different species. Yet, their fate is in our hands. All the remaining species are threatened with extinction in our lifetime.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• oahu
• tree
• snail
• endangered
• species
• hawaii
• animals
• wolf
• predation

[robnelsonfilms]

Contrary to what most people seem to think, yes, biological control does work and is often the only way to help stop an invasive species. However, a great deal of research needs to be done nowadays to make sure we don't make the mistakes we made in the past. It seems very little thought was put into species introduction before it was released. The best examples of biological control I can think of are small insects that help control invasive plants - water hyacinth - hydrilla - strw guava ...

[dzaeman]

poor Achatinella spp. i hope they find a way to kill off the wolf snail without killing of the rest of the snails..

[poptartpyro]

oh my god...cannibal snails?

[VriskaSerket]

It has been a while since I watched this, and I would like to make a modest suggestion about the Oahu tree snails that are being bred for release back into the wild.

You should do some selective breeding. Pick and bred individuals who lay more eggs, are larger, and more aggressive than usual. Perhaps then they could compete with the invasive specie. You would be shocked how different they can become after just a few generations of this.

[VriskaSerket]

But does destruction out of misunderstanding these elements the same as destroying out of maliciousness? Reasons are also subjective. If I step on an insect while walking from one place to another I did so because I did not see it, but also for a reason. To move from one place to another. Killing it was not necessary to that, normally that walk may not preclude the death of another living being, but in this case it did. Introducing these snails most any where else wouldn't have wrought this.

[Scythemantis]

@VriskaSerket We don't have an obligation to preserve life, but we do have the power to do so with no real sacrifice on our part but simple consideration and balance. If any kind of right and wrong exists, destruction for no reason must be worse than preservation.

[VriskaSerket]

Half a year later... sorry about that

It is sad, but what about when specie go extinct from the actions of other animals? We aren't the first specie to contribute to another going extinct, and won't be the last. We also may not be the first specie to contribute to our own extinction (if we even do, but that can't be ordained clearly until it happens). How much responsibility does our higher faculties really net us in the long run? Did we really know better at the given time this was expedited?

[n3rdbear]

The chick at 0:07 is pretty hot.

[832existentialiste]

i thought all snails looked cute save for the rosey wolf.

[832existentialiste]

such beautiful patterns.

[Scythemantis]

@VriskaSerket Species go extinct every second of every day since the dawn of life....but when a species might have survived if not for people doing something entirely unnecessary, that's sad. Just like any form of neglect. No species lasts forever, but people don't last forever either, and we still try not to harm each other without a good reason.

[VriskaSerket]

@Scythemantis And again, how much does this matter in the grand scheme of things? Is mankind the only force to ever introduce an invasive specie that caused notable extinction of the indigenous creatures?

Not even mass. Thirty three specie is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. While I certainly do feel for it, I can't bring myself to be particularly enraged.

[Scythemantis]

@VriskaSerket it's ridiculous that so many species go extinct all at once due to a single incredibly foolish and poorly-researched human action. We should know better than that, and take greater measures to conserve fragile species before releasing biological control agents.