Invasive Invertebrates of California's Central Coast Region
Aquatic Invertebrates
New Zealand Mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)
New Zealand Mudsnails (NZMS)are extremely small snails, capable of collapsing entire food webs. NZMS are considered generalists and will eat the food that other benthic macroinvertebrates rely on for nutrients.[1] They are so generalistic that they will out-compete important species that serve as food for local fish (i.e., the larvae of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies), all of which have specific feeding habits. Once these prey species are out-competed, fish will attempt to feed on NZMS, but they are incapable of being digested and simply pass through the gut of the fish without harm .[1] NZMS also reporduce asexually, and can create one million clones over the course of one summer.[1] Unpublished research from California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) suggests that NZMS can move against currents of 74cm/s.
Professors and students at CSUMB have found NZMS in the Carmel River and Garland Ranch. Their movement within the Carmel River cannot be stopped because of their small size and large populations, save for strategically draining areas of the Carmel River (an unlikely event). It is possible to stop NZMS movement across rivers by cleaning gear thoroughly with all purpose cleaners (to kill the snails) and letting the gear dry for 72 hours[2] before it goes in the water again (desiccate any snails that weren't killed). Dogs that go into any body of water in the California Central Coast should also be cleaned thoroughly and not allowed in water again for 72 hours to prevent the movement of NZMS across water bodies.
