FROM THE ARCHIVES [OCTOBER 9 2021] – “HOMES ENGLAND’S DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR THE ANCIENT PARISH OF IFIELD ‘BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER’ BY FRESHWATER SNAILS?”
RAMSAR
The snail derails the
All Hail this Small Snail
A small snail scuppers the big developer
Small is beautiful
It’s the little things in life…
NEWS RELEASE – THE IFIELD SOCIETY – OCTOBER 13 2021
The Natural England directive on ‘water neutrality’ has the full force of law behind it. Developers may well attempt to challenge this in the courts, but they will lose. The law is very clear – and this directive overrides all other planning directives of other agencies.
Natural England issued this directive in September 2021, in which housing developments must not add to the amount of water being used in the Sussex North Water Supply Zone [Note: this Zone gets all its water from the Rivers Arun & Rother at Southern Water’s Hardham Water Supply Works].
Any expansion in water extraction from the Arun/Rother will adversely affect the RAMSAR and SSSI areas of the Arun Valley, such as Pulborough Wildbrooks – the natural habitat of the protected Little Whirlpool Ramshorn snail [Anisus vorticulus]. This rare snail is only found in three places in the UK, one of which is the RAMSAR site on the Wildbrooks. The snail itself might appear insignificant, but it is seen as a lead indicator of trouble for other species.
Any expansion in water extraction will also adversely affect the ancient Non-RAMSAR areas such as the Parish Brooks, West of Ifield – the natural habitat of the endangered Long Horn beetles.
Developers such as Homes England will find it very difficult to prove their development is ‘water neutral’ [ie will not add to the amount of water being used in the Sussex North Water Supply Zone]. Developers will also find it very difficult to prove they are not endangering rare species such as the Anisus vorticulus and Pogonocherus hispidus.
By taking these critical factors into consideration, the local councils of Horsham & Crawley [both within Water Supply Zone] now have little choice but to scrap/shelve/abandon/pause large development plans, such as the West of Ifield, Adversane and Buck Barn strategic site options. These developments would inevitably add to the amount of water being used and further threaten endangered species such as the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn snail and the Lesser Thorn-tipped Longhorn beetle.
Developers such as Homes England would be advised to graciously admit defeat, and begin to fulfil their duty to cooperate with local councils and communities.
Natural England directives have the force of law behind them. Developers may well attempt to challenge these in the courts, but they will lose. The law is very clear – and this Natural England directive overrides all other planning directives of other agencies.
Natural England have issued a directive on ‘water neutrality’, in which housing developments must not add to the amount of water being used in the Sussex North Water Supply Zone [Note: this Zone gets all its water from the the River Arun at Southern Water’s Hardham centre].
Any expansion in water extraction from the Arun will adversely affect the RAMSAR and SSSI areas of the Arun Valley, such as Pulborough Wildbrooks – the natural habitat of the protected Little Whirlpool Ramshorn snail [Anisus vorticulus]. This rare snail is only found in three places in the UK, one of which is the RAMSAR site on the Wildbrooks. The snail itself might appear insignificant, but it is seen as a lead indicator of trouble for other species.
Developers such as Homes England will find it very difficult to prove their development is ‘water neutral’ [ie will not add to the amount of water being used in the Sussex North Water Supply Zone]. Developers will also find it very difficult to prove they are not endangering rare species such as the Anisus vorticulus.
By taking these critical factors into consideration, the local councils of Horsham & Crawley [both within Water Supply Zone] now have little choice but to scrap/shelve/abandon/pause large development plans, such as the West of Ifield, Adversane and Buck Barn strategic site options. These developments would inevitably add to the amount of water being used and further threaten endangered species such as the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn snail.
Developers such as Homes England would be advised to graciously admit defeat, and begin to fulfil their duty to cooperate with local councils and communities.
LITTLE WHIRLPOOL RAMSHORN SNAIL PROJECT AT PULBOROUGH BROOKS
10 May 2019
Back from the Brink is an ambitious programme of work aiming to improve the conservation status of 20 of England’s most threatened species, whilst benefitting at least 200 more. With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other funders, 19 projects have been established across England, some covering particular geographic areas whilst others concentrate on individual species. Accounts of the projects, and information on how to get involved, can be found on the Back from the Brink website.
RSPB is leading a project on Anisus vorticulus, the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail, at Pulborough Brooks reserve in the Arun Valley, from 2017-2021. The Arun valley is one of the three strongholds for the species in the UK, the others being the Norfolk Broads and the Pevensey Levels.
Anisus vorticulus is a small aquatic snail, rarely more than 5mm in diameter. It has very particular habitat requirements; it needs unpolluted, chalky waters such as marshland ditches, with just the right vegetation. It’s one of the rarest, most restricted and most vulnerable freshwater molluscs in Britain.
Anisus-vorticulus
Photo: Alex Hyde
A survey carried out by Dr Martin Willing of the Conchological Society in 2013/14 found the population at Pulborough Brooks was expanding in the north of the reserve but was absent from the southern and central sections. A further survey of Amberley Brooks in 2015/16 found it was only present in 1 ditch. It is evident that the Arun population has greatly declined and is very vulnerable.
The cause of this decline is not clear. Past studies have suggested that the method of ditch clearance is the main problem, as the snail occupies well vegetated ditches and has not recolonised some ditches after clearance. The recommendation has been to leave stretches of ditch uncleared to act as a source for recolonisation. However, even when this management practice has been carried out for many years, it has not prevented the snail from being lost.
This form of ditch management can be problematic for land managers as the uncleared sections hamper water flow and lead to siltation, which is detrimental to much of the wildlife, including the snail. The ditches no longer function as wet fences, enabling livestock to move between compartments.
Through the Back from the Brink project we are testing four methods of ditch management in the hope that one can be found which both conserves the snail and facilitates the wetland management.
Toby Abrehart, sampling a ditch that’s had central channel clearance
Photo: Alex Hyde
Anisus vorticulus is a European Protected Species and land managers are required to gain a licence to carry out ditch management. Under the terms of the licence they need to follow a ditch management protocol with the options of staggered clearance (whereby alternate sections are cleared and left uncleared); ends uncleared (for ditch lengths <100m) and half-width clearance (for ditches >4m wide). We have set up a replicated trial of each of these and in addition we are testing central channel clearance on the wider ditches.
2018 was the first year of monitoring of the ditch management trial, carried out under contract by Abrehart Ecology. Anisus vorticulus was found in all of the trial ditches and at most of the sampling points, larger numbers were recorded in the cleared parts of the ditch than in the uncleared. The monitoring will be repeated in 2019 and 2020 to see if this is a consistent finding.
In an attempt to improve the status of the snail, we have also created some additional suitable habitat in the form of 9 ditch spurs and 1 new ditch which can be allowed to vegetate up and do not have to act as wet fences or for water flow. These will be monitored in 2020 to see if they have been colonised.
If habitat conditions in the central and southern areas Pulborough Brooks were found to be suitable, we had planned to carry out some trial translocations in 2019. However, assessments in 2018 found many of the ditches had a very impoverished mollusc community, including several species more typical of ponds. Rather than carry out the translocations, we are now setting up water quality testing of the ditches to try to ascertain what the problem is.
The results of this project are being shared with Natural England and the Conchological Society, plus other conservation organisations and land managers with duty of care for Anisus vorticulus. In combination with studies in the Norfolk Broads, it is hoped they will inform future management for the snail.
Anyone interested in learning more about this project should contact the project officer, Dr Jane Sears, at jane.sears@rspb.org.uk.
Would you like to help these incredible species? There are numerous ways in which you can:
- Why not volunteer for Back from the Brink? Check out our events page for opportunities near you.
- Help us to spread the word of this species, and the others we will be helping over the next 3 years, by sharing our message across our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages. Follow us: @naturebftb.
- Finally – help support the work we do across England by donating. Our impact will be greater with your help.
I’ve found some of these snails in my fish tank. Should I put them outside anywhere in particular?
Thank you for getting in touch and for taking an interest in our Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail project.
Is your fish tank a cold-water tank or a tropical fish tank? How big are your snails? The Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail grows up to 6 mm in total and would only survive in cold water. It has a very limited distribution in the wild in England, so it is hard to imagine how it could have got into your fish tank unless you had taken some water weed from one of the ditches it lives in. If this is possible then please let us know what area you live in.
There are several small ramshorn snails which look quite similar. If you could send us some close up photos we might be able to get an expert to look at them. We would need a photo of the snail end on, showing it’s mouth, as well as a side view.
Please do not release your snails outside as they may not be a native species and therefore could harm our native fauna. They are best viewed as an additional member of your tank’s community (I have some small snails in my tropical fish tank and they do no harm).
Hi I think my garden pond (in Wrexham, uk) has a colony of these tiny whirlpool snails. I took a root of a fresh water grass from a nearby ditch/dyke and put it in my tiny pond and now not only has the grass grown lots but I seem to have hundreds of these little fellas. I can take a photo if there is an email address I could send it to…many thanks
Hi on closer inspection I don’t think our folks are the same, equally tiny but I suspect a different ramshorn. I have photos anyway but think ours aren’t whirlpools! Many thanks 😊
Thanks for your comments Emma!
I have similar snails in my tank. But it is on a tropical set up not cold water. I am located here in the philippines, does it have tropical sub species like mine? I will send pictures to your email.
There are a very large number of snail species in the ‘Ramshorn’ family distributed around the world. There are over 20 species in the Anisus genus alone, but as far as I am aware, most species live in freshwater in cooler temperate countries. There is a useful guide at https://conchsoc.org/aids_to_id/Anisus.php.
So although the snails in their fish tank may look similar to Anisus vorticulus I very much doubt they are the same species, especially if in a tropical fish tank. Snails in fish tanks do not harm the fish but can be a nuisance if they are very small as they may clog filters. If taking any photos of snails please ensure there is a ruler for scale and that the snail is photographed on both the vertical and edge on side views.