An invasive freshwater aquatic snail species is taking over lakes in and around Ontario thanks to its ability to resist predation and ability to withstand a variety of environmental stressors. 

The Chinese Mystery Snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) is a species native to southeast Asia and eastern Russia and is believed to have been introduced into North America during the late 1800s as an addition to the Asian food market and aquarium trade. 

The shells of mystery snails are thick, rounded, and can reach lengths of six to seven centimetres. The species grows rapidly during the first spans of its life, allowing them to avoid predation. 

Today, the relentless mystery snails have managed to invade several Canadian provinces including Ontario, which holds the highest reported number of sightings and faces a high risk of aquatic ecosystem degradation. 

The snails can live in a variety of ecosystems but mostly thrive in watersheds with slow-moving currents, where they can burrow themselves or hide. 

Once they are present in a particular ecosystem, the invasive species can easily outcompete native mollusks and filter feeders for food and habitat. The snails boast not only a large relative size but multiple feeding mechanisms, which allow them to employ different feeding strategies depending on food abundance. 

By out-competing other native species, the snails can affect the biodiversity of Ontario's aquatic ecosystems and decrease population sizes of mollusk prey species for predators like otters and muskrats. 

According to the Invasive Species Centre, the mystery snails can also alter nutrient cycling by excreting large amounts of decal matter, which can have impacts on bacterial, algal, and zooplankton communities. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, the species also has the potential to be a "vector for parasites and diseases." Their large decaying shells can also wash up on shore and create hazards if stepped on. 

If these snails are spotted in a waterbody outside of their native range, the Invasive Species Centre says they should be removed and disposed of in a suitable compost or garbage bin far from where they were found. 

"Whether alive or dead, aquatic pets should never be released into a wild environment, as they have the potential to spread diseases or become invasive and out complete native species for natural resources," the centre notes. 

"All watercraft and equipment should always be cleaned thoroughly after exiting any waterbody, and live wells and bilges drained on land. This simple practice ensures boaters are not hitching aquatic invasive species such as the Chinese mystery snail from one waterbody to another, and in turn, will help limit the spread of this destructive invader."