Invitation to contribute a ‘mini-review’

Thanks to Tony Cook in Ulster, who puts the Bulletin onto the Internet, we have realised that the Bulletin is accessed by students searching for information for projects and dissertations. Their searches are made by using key words, rather than by going through The Society’s website. That being the case, we have an opportunity to make the Bulletin of greater educational use, and promote interest in the scientific study of molluscs. The hope is to make students realize that ‘molluscs do that too!’, or that a mollusc might be a good choice for project material.

One way to do this will be to include ‘Mini-Reviews’ on aspects of molluscan biology which come within the sphere of many undergraduate courses. As examples, these might include shell formation from the viewpoints of mineralization or of pattern formation, aquaculture and fisheries, marine ecology, conservation, processes of speciation or techniques. You will have many further examples.

I invite, particularly, young researchers to contact me with suggestions of reviews they think would be appropriate. The review should be about 500 to 1200 words long and written in an appropriate style. They should include 1-3 illustrations which will be effective on a computer screen, and a few references for further reading. The articles will be peer reviewed and also shown to undergraduates for comment. Villie Flari starts the series on page 6 of this issue, with an article on reproductive hormones.

Bill Bailey

Society’s Awards and Travel Bursaries

For UM Congress

On 28 January 2004 the Council of the Malacological Society of London decided to make the following contributions to the Unitas Malacologica World Congress in Perth, Western Australia.

1. Awards

1. An award to be made to the best student presentation of 3 years subscription to Journal of Molluscan Studies.
2. The Sir Charles Maurice Yonge Award for the best student contribution (paper or poster) for work on Bivalvia. This will be £200.

2. Travel Bursaries

A sum equivalent to 4000 Australian dollars to be available for travel bursaries to attend the Congress. This sum to be administered by UM Council along with other travel grants.
If a suitable candidate is identified working on Bivalvia then that particular bursary should be called the Sir Charles Maurice Yonge Award

Conditions

Awards and travel grants to be administered by UM Council.
That the name of the Malacological Society of London be acknowledged in any announcements and publicity.

Overseas Members Subscriptions

The Treasurer encourages overseas members to use VISA or MASTERCARD rather than Banker’s Draft when paying subscriptions. The use of a Banker’s Draft incurs heavy charges both for the sender and The Society, for example on a Draft of £43, the sender pays £6 and the recipient pays £6.

Banff springs snail

Physella johnsoni is a small freshwater snail endemic and confined to five thermal springs in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Four of the sites are in a National Historic Site frequented by humans, and it has disappeared from four other springs since first described in 1926. It undergoes large annual population fluctuations increasing in autumn, from an unknown cause, and is dependent on thermal spring water high in dissolved minerals and hydrogen sulphide. It is designated as Endangered by Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. A Resource Management Plan for its recovery was adopted in 2002 by Parks Canada, and implemented by Dwayne Lepitzki. A first re-establishment in late 2002 has been successful, and a second re-establishment trial was undertaken in late 2003.

Tentacle

The latest issue (No. 12) of the newsletter of the IUCN – Species Survival Commission – Mollusc Specialist Group contains a report on the Banff spring snail. It is edited by Robert Cowie, and is available on the web at the new address:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~cowie/Tentacle.htm
Hard copies are sent only if the editor has no email address.

The Conus Biodiversity Website

Alan Kohn has recently announced the launch of this web site at http://faculty.washington.edu/kohn/
Currently, it contains only a catalogue of all species. The next components added will be a gallery of photographs and descriptions of valid species.

Oxyloma pfeifferi—a pest in plant nurseries

A recent survey by J Bennison (2001) of hardy perrenial plant nurseries, mostly in south and central England, revealed the most common slug as Deroceras panormitanum (D. caruanae). The most common pest snail was the holarctic wetland species Oxyloma (Succinea) pfeifferi—rather surprising until we remember the extensive use of irrigation.