WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2024 47 topics: “past and present impacts,” “biology, ecology, and non-target implications,” or “management strategies.” An open-forum Q&A session followed the presentations which offered individuals the opportunity to ask questions, share thoughts and ideas, and help formulate ideas for future research and management. Topics ranged from specific questions about a given presentation and/or study, to more hypothetical questions about invasion risks and possible impacts or benefits to different systems. Participating industry and scientific experts provided perspectives on the situation and results from their own findings, tying them to different aspects of the presentations given. On Day 1, the presentations began with Dr. Robert Cowie, research professor with the Pacific Biosciences Research Center at the University of Hawaii, discussing the history of apple snail introductions and the impacts that apple snails have had in the Hawaiian Islands. Dr. James (Jeb) Byers, associate dean of research and operations, and professor of ecology, at the Odum School of Ecology at University of Georgia, followed with a presentation exploring the physiology, life history, and abiotic thresholds of P. maculata, and including a modelling analysis of how these three aspects interact, to help predict the extent of range expansion that is likely to occur in the southeastern U.S. The final talk in this session by Dr. Blake Wilson, associate professor of field crops entomology at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Agricultural Center, examined the current impacts and trends within the rice and crawfish production industry in Louisiana. Day 2 of the workshop resumed with three more presentations from invited speakers. The session focused on the biology and ecology of P. maculata. Dr. Kenneth Hayes, the Director of the Pacific Center for Molecular Biodiversity and Malacology at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, presented first on the ecology, evolution, and development of a broader understanding of potential impacts of P. maculata based on their origins and their evolutionary relationships to other apple snail invaders. The second presentation by Dr. Jiangxiao Qiu, associate professor at the University of Florida discussed the impacts on vegetation, soil, and nutrient dynamics that apple snails have had on subtropical wetlands in the United States. Finally, Dr. Graham Rosser, assistant professor of parasitology at Mississippi State University (MSU), rounded out the session with a presentation on possible health risks associated with apple snails. The presentation highlighted, among other concerns, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasite commonly known as “rat lungworm,” which can cause meningitis of the brain in humans. The final day of the workshop focused on current and prospective management strategies for controlling apple snails. Dr. Charles (Chuck) Mischke, research professor of aquaculture at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center, provided the first presentation of the session, discussing current knowledge and management strategies for other snail pests in current aquaculture settings. Dr. Romi Burks, a professor of biology at Southwestern University, followed with a presentation on current research exploring the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a means of monitoring apple snail invasions and population growth. To conclude the presentations for day 3, Julian Lucero, a coastal scientist with Jacobs Engineering Group and a recent graduate student working under Dr. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 48) FIGURE 2. Pomacea maculata egg clutch on rice stalk. Photo credit: Bradley Richardson FIGURE 3. Apple snails collected from crawfish traps in Louisiana. Photo credit: Julian Lucero
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