06-13-2006, 03:21 PM
[mad][font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]Tuesday, June 13, 2006 OC Register[/green][/size][/font] [font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]New Zealand mud snail found in region's streams[/size][/green][/font] [font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Invasive, spiral-shaped gastropods could destroy food supplies for other wildlife.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3][/size][/green][/font][font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]The Associated Press
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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]LOS ANGELES – Tiny water snails that are sometimes called "aquatic locusts" could bring big problems for Southern California.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The New Zealand mud snail - which measures less than an eighth of an inch - has recently appeared in four local streams and has environmental groups worried.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The invasive, spiral-shaped gastropods spread by clinging to boats, boots, fur and feathers and they reach such high numbers and eat so voraciously that they can destroy food supplies for other local wildlife.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]They can reach concentrations of hundreds of thousands per square yard, and populations can double their number in just a few months.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"We've found there's not much we can do to keep them from spreading," said Steve Martarano, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. "There's just no way we can contain it."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Environmental groups learned last week that the creatures were found during winter bug surveys of Malibu Creek, Las Virgenes Creek, Lindero Canyon Creek and Medea Creek, all in Los Angeles County.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Malibu Creek is home to two endangered species: the southern steelhead trout and the red-legged frog, which eat insects that could be displaced by the snails.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The snails have found their way to 10 Western states and three national parks since first appearing in Idaho in the 1980s.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]They were discovered in California three years ago in rivers in the Sierra Nevada. Officials said the bugs have yet to cause major problems among fish populations there.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"There's certainly a concern, but we just don't know," Martarano said. "They haven't been around long enough."[/size][/green][/font]
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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3][/size][/green][/font][font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]The Associated Press
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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3][/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]LOS ANGELES – Tiny water snails that are sometimes called "aquatic locusts" could bring big problems for Southern California.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The New Zealand mud snail - which measures less than an eighth of an inch - has recently appeared in four local streams and has environmental groups worried.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The invasive, spiral-shaped gastropods spread by clinging to boats, boots, fur and feathers and they reach such high numbers and eat so voraciously that they can destroy food supplies for other local wildlife.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]They can reach concentrations of hundreds of thousands per square yard, and populations can double their number in just a few months.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"We've found there's not much we can do to keep them from spreading," said Steve Martarano, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. "There's just no way we can contain it."[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Environmental groups learned last week that the creatures were found during winter bug surveys of Malibu Creek, Las Virgenes Creek, Lindero Canyon Creek and Medea Creek, all in Los Angeles County.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Malibu Creek is home to two endangered species: the southern steelhead trout and the red-legged frog, which eat insects that could be displaced by the snails.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The snails have found their way to 10 Western states and three national parks since first appearing in Idaho in the 1980s.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]They were discovered in California three years ago in rivers in the Sierra Nevada. Officials said the bugs have yet to cause major problems among fish populations there.[/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]"There's certainly a concern, but we just don't know," Martarano said. "They haven't been around long enough."[/size][/green][/font]
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