Follow the snail trail to our roots

Researchers want the public to get involved in a project which could tell us how our ancestors came to Britain and Ireland. And all they need to do is collect snails.

A garden pest they may be - but they could tell us where the people of Britain came from

By studying the genetic make-up of these creatures - often targeted as garden pests - scientists can trace their origins and find out how they colonised our islands. This in turn could shed light on where our ancestors originally came from, based on the reasoning that the snails may have arrived by hitching a ride with people.

Dr Angus Davison from The School of Biology at the University of Nottingham said: “Snails are normally considered a bit of a menace for bedding plants and shrubs, but we are hoping to turn people’s knowledge of them into a more useful purpose. Although people have moved around a lot, snails move so slowly that descendents of the original snails should still be the same place. We can use information from them to help understand where the people came from.”

By using a combination of genetic techniques and fossils, researchers already know that snails arrived in the mainland of Britain around 10,000 years ago. Now they want the public to help in the collection of snails from specific locations which have a special human and archaeological interest.

A lot of questions remain unanswered about some of the plants and animals of Ireland and the Scottish Islands. Many are clearly distinct from the equivalent organisms in England and Wales and it is not clear how they got there.

Scientists want snails from many areas, but would particularly like them from some specific sites: In Ireland: Co. Mayo (Swinford, near Knock) and Dublin (Newlands Cross). In Scotland: Skye, the Hebrides, Shetland, Orkney.

Dr Davison is asking anyone prepared to help collect snails to contact him for an information pack. He can be contacted at angus.davison@nottingham.ac.uk.