Evolution Megalab

Evolution Megalab asks volunteers to survey banded snail populations in Europe to help map climate change effects.

Did you know that thanks to a common little snail you can find in your garden, in the park or under a hedge, you can see evolution in your own back yard?

Evolution is a very slow process. Life on Earth started about three-and-a-half billion years ago! It’s the tiny changes accumulating over a long, long time that got us here. And you can see some of those tiny steps by joining the Evolution MegaLab.

It may look like banded snails are dressed-to-kill, but really they are dressed not to be killed. Banded snails are a favorite food of the song thrush, and their various shell colors and patterns camouflage them against different backgrounds. But, in some places there are fewer thrushes than there used to be.

Help us find out

* Have shell colors and bands changed where there are fewer thrushes?

Shell color also affects how sensitive a snail is to temperature.

* Have shell colors changed with our warming climate?

Project email: megalab@open.ac.uk