Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
dams, can isolate populations and increase the risk for local extirpation or extinction (Greenwood and Thorp 2001) .
3.9.4 Knowledge Gaps The first step in a successful gastropod conservation program is to gain an understanding of the diversity of taxa that exist (Perez and Minton 2008; Lysne et al. 2008) . We have many knowledge gaps for snails in the state. Most of what is known about land snail distributions in North Carolina, as well as in the Southeast, is based on the work of Leslie Hubricht (Gerber 2010) . Recently, a new species of micro-sized land snail, Paravitrea nunnehi , was discovered in leaf litter near the Broad River (Slapcinsky et al. 2023) . The survey collections of Amy and Wayne Van Devender were donated to the Mollusk Collection at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and are being cataloged currently. This collection represents more than 11,000 lots (species by location) from over three decades of survey work conducted statewide. Once cataloged, the data will contribute significantly to knowledge about the distribution of land snails in North Carolina. Overall, there is little survey, monitoring, or research being conducted nor data published for North Carolina, making it difficult to assess conservation status and needs of most species. The need for adequate inventories of extant taxa and an understanding of distributional trends of those taxa are 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. Limitations include having enough biologists with expertise and resource agency staff devoted to this taxon. There is a great deal of taxonomic uncertainty as well. Many of the land snails in the glass snail families (Oxychilidae Gastrodontidae, Pristolomatidae) 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 clarification and species detection. Simultaneously providing a description of community composition will provide ecological context that will benefit conservation planning (Lysne et al. 2008). The effects of pollutants on populations of freshwater snails are poorly known, but future research can clarify these impacts. The species for which the Snail Taxa Team determined to be research priorities because of knowledge gaps are included in Tables 3-8 (Aquatic Snails) and 3-9 (Land Snails) in Appendix 3. Since there is a significant lack of information about aquatic and land snails in the state, the evaluation results for Metric 9 are largely qualitative and do not adequately assess anticipated impacts from threats for nearly all species considered by the Taxa Teams.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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