Control and conservation of endemic species in the UK and Hawaii

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Invasive snails and slugs are causing worldwide problems, both in terms of direct damage to crops, and as intermediate vectors for diseases of farm animals. Yet, snails and slugs are difficult to identify and we have little idea of what influences their distributions, hindering appropriate control and conservation efforts. In the UK, modern molecular phylogenetic knowledge of these species - terrestrial and aquatic - and their potential as vectors of disease is relatively limited. In Hawaii, we have recently characterised an aquatic Lymnaeaid snail that has cryptically colonised the archipelago. This snail is endangering the local endemic species, and potentially acts as an intermediate vector for the liver fluke parasite. The aim of this project, therefore, will be to study the process of invasion, using representative species in the UK and Hawaii (with collaborators in the Bishop Museum, Hawaii and Howard University) to understand the evolution of these snails and their parasites, and including methods that may help refine the identification of the invasive species and species of conservation concern. Although much of the work will be lab-based, with a concomitant bioinformatics element, field collection will be a necessary component