Can snails ever be effective and safe biocontrol agents?

Abstract

The use of snails as biocontrol agents against other snails and against aquatic weeds is reviewed, evaluating their success and their impacts on non-target organisms. The predatory snail Euglandina rosea (and other species), although widely used against Achatina fulica (the giant African land snail) on Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, has not been shown to control A. fulica but has seriously impacted endemic island species. The facultative predator Rumina decollata , used in California against Helix aspersa (brown garden snail), is widely considered to be environmentally benign. However, evidence of its effectiveness is weak and it will also consume native snails. Ampullariid and thiarid freshwater snails have been used as competitors (and incidental predators) of snail vectors of human schistosomes, the parasites causing schistosomiasis (bilharzia). Successful control has been reported but impacts on native biotas have been essentially ignored. Ampullariids have been used in attempts to control aquatic weeds, sometimes successfully, but again with little consideration of impacts on native biota. Most snails have generalist feeding habits. Thus they are inappropriate biocontrol agents because of their potential nontarget effects. Rarely has adequate pre-release testing of snails been undertaken and post-release monitoring of non-target impacts has always been incidental. The use of non-native snails for biocontrol purposes is poorly regulated; many introductions are unofficial and sometimes illegal. Use of snails as biocontrol agents, if implemented, must be based on adequate pre-release testing, post-release monitoring and genuine concern for preservation of native biodiversity.