By Pete Grebowski, Land Steward
Pacific sideband snails shoot “love darts” during a courship that is elaborate…but slow.
Hardly studied and often overlooked, the Pacific sideband snail (Monadenia fidelis) is one of the most interesting species you’ve never thought much about. From their anatomy to the extreme pressures they face from warming climates and human development, these little gastropods are far more complex than you’d expect.
Last month we had a planting party at a Land Trust property along the Mashel River. Throughout the day we saw eagles, deer, salamanders, and signs of beaver and elk. While these creatures quickly dispersed upon our arrival, one remained – a Pacific sideband snail slowly making its way across a leaf near our snack station.
It made me think that while most species have a relatively agile response to human influence or natural events like fire or falling trees, some, like this snail, are basically trapped in their surrounding environment.
Pacific sidebands are endemic to the Pacific Coast of North America, where they typically reside in cool, moist, shaded forests. They feed on fungi and plant material and provide prey for raccoons, shrews, and mice, among others.
But with rising temperatures, intensifying wildfires, continuous human development, and decreasing rainfall, their suitable habitat is becoming increasingly marginalized. Other, more mobile species can shift home ranges in response to these pressures, but terrestrial snails don’t move anywhere fast. And their mobility is being further impeded as the traditionally moist substrates they travel on dry up.
They might move slowly, but Pacific sidebands (like many terrestrial snails) give a different meaning to the phrase “darting across the ladscape.” They are hermaphrodites, with both male and female reproductive organs.
As if that anatomy isn’t complex enough, they shoot what are called “love darts” during an elaborate courtship process, virtually playing cupid with each other before they mate! (Although separate from the copulation process, these love darts are thought to enhance reproductive success after mating.)
While we typically focus our interests on large mammals, birds of prey, and salmon, it is important to remember that nature exists at all levels, and that seemingly unexciting species may have a much more interesting and ecologically important life cycle than we’d expect.
Next time you come across a Pacific sideband, just think: You are looking at nature’s version of the Roman god of love!