A state biologist says the channeled apple snail is threatening life in Florida's lakes and rivers.

The channeled apple snail is an invasive species from South America. It was introduced in this country for use in aquariums.

State aquatic biologist Dana Denson says the snail's range has dramatically expanded. It's quickly eating its way through vegetation in more of Florida's lakes and rivers. That's causing habitat loss for native species of fish and other aquatic wildlife.

The snails have no natural predators, and chemicals that would kill them would probably kill other aquatic life, too. So Denson is asking residents and boaters to destroy any of the snail's grit-sized pink eggs that they find.

The biologist says scraping the eggs off docks, plants or boats should kill them. Another method: freeze the eggs, then throw them out.

Snail-spotters are also encouraged to contact the state Department of Environmental Protection with the location where they found the mollusk's eggs.

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On the Net:

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection: http://dep.state.fl.us

http://www.wtev.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=66D92E9B-0D0A-460D-A674-411D112CCACF