3.9 Snails
3.9.3 Conservation Concerns While eforts to protect healthy aquatic habitats benefts all aquatic species, including aquatic snails, eforts directed specifcally to conserve freshwater gastropods have lagged behind eforts to conserve other freshwater species (Lysne et al. 2008) . Very little research has addressed gastropods found in large river systems but snails in these systems are subject to the same threats in regulated waters as protected mussel species (Brown et al. 1998; Haynes et al. 1999; Brown 2001, 2001; Greenwood and Torp 2001) . Published research on freshwater gastropods has focused on their efects on algae in small-order streams or have focused on pulmonate snails (snails that have a lung and are hermaphroditic) which are rare in large river systems (Greenwood and Torp 2001) . Because prosobranch species do not disperse over land, habitat fragmentation, such as the presence of dams, can isolate populations and increase the risk for local extirpation or extinction (Greenwood and Torp 2001) .
Saltwater intrusion poses a signifcant threat to species in freshwater coastal systems.
3.9.4 Knowledge Gaps We have many knowledge gaps for snails in the state. Limitations include staf time and resources devoted to this taxon. Te frst step in a successful gastropod conservation pro- gram is to gain an understanding of the diversity of taxa that exist (Perez and Minton 2008; Lysne et al. 2008) . Te need for adequate inventories of extant taxa and an understanding of distri- butional trends of those taxa is urgent (Lydeard et al. 2004; Wilson 2005; Lysne et al. 2008) . Dispersal abilities, life histories, and habitat requirements are not well understood for most species in North Carolina. Tere is a great deal of taxonomic uncertainty as well. Many of the land snails in the family Zonitidae (glass snails) have not been described and very little has been published about their ecology, reproductive biology, or egg laying behavior. As new data are gathered and new species are described taxonomic knowledge databases need to be updated. Molecular/ DNA studies can aid in taxonomic clarifcation and species detection. Simultaneously providing a description of community composition will provide ecological context that will beneft conservation planning (Lysne et al. 2008) . Tere is uncertainty regarding the efects of pollutants on populations of freshwater snails, which continuing research help to clarify. In addition to the SGCN priorities listed in Table 3.26, the species for which the Taxa Team determined there are research priorities because of knowledge gaps are identifed in Table 3.28.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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