A small computer backpack adorns the shell of this pink wolf snail.
Inhee LeeUsing a small computer the size of a pencil eraser, scientists discovered how a native tree snail species managed to survive a vicious predator that wiped out 50 other snail species in the South Pacific.
French authorities running the Society Islands of the South Pacific introduced this predator, the pink wolf snail, in 1974 in an attempt to curb the spread of the giant African land snail that was previously introduced as a food source, according to The Guardian . The pink wolf snail’s actions are less than rosy, despite its nickname. It moves faster than most snails and attacks voraciously and eats snails and slugs.
The Society Islands are a group of islands that are home to hundreds of endemic animals. species, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Of 61 species of tree snails native to the islands before the pink wolf reached the city, Partula hyalina is among only five that have survived in the wild.
So how did white-barked P. hyalina escape its predator’s claws? In a new study published Tuesday in the journal Communications Biology, University of Michigan scientists reveal their answer.
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“We were able to get data that no one else could get,” said David Blaauw, co-leader of the team that developed the Michigan Micro Mote, or M3, the computer used in the study. “And that’s because we had a tiny computer system that was small enough to stick in a snail.”
UM scientists hypothesized in 2015 that P. hyalina was able to persist in sunlit forest edge habitats wearing a shell that reflected rather than absorbing light radiation levels that would kill its darker shell counterparts. The study required them to monitor the levels of light exposure that both snail species experienced on a typical day, and this led them to join forces with the UM engineers who created the M3. Inventors call their M3 “the world’s smallest computer.”
The M3 system had an energy collector that allowed it to recharge its battery using tiny solar cell panels. For the study, the snail detectives measured light levels by measuring how fast the battery charged.
On the island of Tahiti, part of In the Society Islands, researchers glued the M3s directly into the shells of pink wolf snails. P. hyalina is a protected species, so scientists didn’t put the M3s directly into their shells. Instead, they used magnets to place M3s on the top and bottom of the leaves, where they rested. They found that P. hyalina was routinely exposed to significantly higher levels of solar radiation in its forest edge habitats than those suffered by the predator.
This isn’t the last cheer for the M3. It is also being used by the University of Michigan in a project aimed at tracking the migration paths of monarch butterflies. In the meantime, the Particles will continue to roam the archipelago thanks to their clear, sun-kissed shells.
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