Pearce-Kelly - A Summary of the International Partulid Conservation Programme and its Significance for Other Group-level Managed Species

A Summary of the International Partulid Conservation Programme and its Significance for Other Group-level Managed Species.

Paul Pearce-Kelly

Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY U.K. ppk@zsl.org

The remarkable contribution that Partulid snail studies have made to the field of evolutionary genetics is well-documented. Likewise their tragic extinction crisis has provided a classic case-study of invasive predator-induced mass species loss. The resultant International Partulid Conservation Programme has provided the conservation community with a model for developing population management techniques and tools for species requiring management at the group (i.e. life-stage based) rather than at the individual level. This paper summarises the key elements of the Partulid management programme and discusses its wider significance for other group-level managed species.