For centuries, there were millions of Partula snails in French Polynesia. Then, after an invasive predatory species was introduced to the islands, the Partula were eaten to extinction in the wild. But researchers didn't give up on them.
After breeding and reintroducing several thousand Partula snails over the years, scientists recently discovered the first individuals that had been born in the wild — suggesting that the wild population has re-established itself, Mongabay reported.
While tiny, these snails play a critical role in the functioning of the islands' ecosystem.
"Returning these rare snails back to the wild enables us to start restoring the ecological balance in these islands," Sam Aberdeen of the London Zoo told Mongabay. "Partula snails … eat decaying plant tissue and fungi, so play an important role in maintaining forest health."
After breeding them in labs, scientists marked the snails with a special UV-reflective varnish. This made them easy to monitor by flashlight, as they're typically active at night, and it confirmed that several newfound specimens had been wild-born.
"Discovering wild-born adult snails was a great moment," said Justin Gerlach, a scientist and member of the snail breeding team at the University of Cambridge. "Very few animal species have been re-established back in the wild so this is a fantastic achievement … the fruit of a vast amount of work."
It is a work that is worth the effort. Similar reintroduction projects have had dramatically positive impacts in reviving wild populations.
For example, California condors — after being nearly extinguished by widespread pesticide use and habitat loss — now help their ecosystems thrive by serving as natural "cleanup crews," the National Park Service writes. As it explains, "animal carcasses can be vectors for disease transmission in humans, wildlife, and livestock. By consuming these carcasses, condors help to prevent disease outbreaks. Plants and insects also benefit from the release of nutrients that results from this process."
With the success of the Partula snails, researchers hope their work inspires more efforts.
"It's a powerful example of how conservation zoos can combat biodiversity loss," Paul Pearce-Kelly, London Zoo project leader, told Mongabay. "At a time when nature faces unprecedented challenges, these small snails are a symbol of hope for global wildlife."
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