Profile

Career

Research

Overview

Description of PhD

Title: Cone snails:  a significant biomedical resource at risk

Supervisors: Callum Roberts, Julie Hawkins, Samarthia Thankappan

TAC: Callum Roberts, Julie Hawkins, Samarthia Thankappan, Bryce Beukers-Stewart

Funding Source: NERC/ESRC (additional funding for fieldwork etc being sought)

Description of Thesis

Cone Snails:

A Significant Biomedical Resource at Risk

Cone snails are carnivorous molluscs of the genus Conus (family Conidae) of which there are some 500 species.  They live in warm shallow tropical waters and capture their prey through the delivery of a cocktail of toxins – peptides each targeted at a specific nerve channel or receptor. These 'conotoxins' numbering some 50,000 across the genus exhibit little or no replication. This capability to target highly-specific cellular receptor sites with subtle variations in sequencing holds out unparalleled promise in medicine for both diagnosis and human therapy of diseases and ailments. Although research is still in its infancy with less than 0.2% of conotoxins characterised, treatment for severe intractable pain developed from cone snail compounds is already in widespread use. Other potential uses include those for Parkinson's, Altzheimers, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and many more.

With more than 500 extant species Conus is the largest genus of marine invertebrates.

Cone snails are blessed with exceptionally beautiful shells and it is these that lead to their wholesale collection for the marine curio trade. Every year millions are sold worldwide in a trade that is almost wholly unregulated. In common with other organisms that exist in coral reef environments, they are also victims of severe habitat loss from pollution, unsustainable and damaging fishing practices and removal of inter-dependent environments such as mangrove forests and seagrass beds. The resulting loss of biodiversity and structural complexity creates an environment primed for species extinction and with it loss to mankind of the potential cure for some of our most pernicious diseases.

Conus is a major contributor to both marine biodiversity and biomedical research

Conservation Strategy

• To assess the status of cone snail populations in the wild
• To identify species at risk
• To identify and quantify threats to those species
• To propose measures to protect species, where necessary, including possible listing on CITES

A Multi-dimensional approach

• Through back-catalogue analysis, identify species scarcity from those that have registered disproportionate escalation in wholesale shell prices over forty years.
• Through market intelligence and on-site investigation, characterise and quantify the trade in Conus shells from gatherers to dealers and manufacturers and on to retailers and collectors.
• Through published data and global reef assessments, identify species of restricted range and/or subject to habitat loss that are at special risk.
• Through physical census, establish comparative population levels between areas subject to gathering and those afforded high levels of protection within Marine Protected Areas.

Action

• Convene a World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species™ workshop to assess the risk status of Conus species and identify those for inclusion in the Red Data Book
• Determine parameters for sustainable Conus fisheries in developing countries with sustainable rates of off-take.
• Seek a sponsoring nation to propose the species to the next Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

Publications

Full publications list

• Peters, H. and Hawkins, J.P. (2009). Access to marine parks:  a comparative study in willingness to pay.  Ocean and Coastal Management 52:  219-228