Slugs

Question: How do slug populations relate to school land areas?

Rationale: I think this is important because it could help us find where different slugs live so we can
repopulate certain species.

What we know from our research:

Spotted garden slugs can attain at least 6 inches in length. They vary in color from yellowish-gray to
brown with black spots on the mantle near the head and black stripes extending along the rest of the
body. The tail area is wrinkled. There is a pneumostome or breathing pore on the back part of the mantle
that this slug uses to breathe.

Slugs, like every living organism in an ecosystem have a role. As well as providing a crucial food
source for other wildlife, many species are key composters, helping to breakdown decomposing
vegetation. There are approximately 40 species of slug currently found in the UK, with only a small
number of these considered as pest species. It has been estimated that these species cause
approximately £8 million in damage to agricultural crops each year.

• A slugs blood is green

• A slug lays 20-100 eggs several times a year.
• In favourable conditions a slug can live for up to 6 years.
• A slug is basically a muscular foot, and the name ‘gastropod’ literally means stomach foot.
• It’s been estimated that an acre of farmland may support over 250,000 slugs.

Sites we used for research:

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Limax_maximus/

https://www.slugoff.co.uk/slug-facts/facts

http://www.slugwatch.co.uk/?page_id=13

Our Hypothesis:

We think we will find the most slugs in moist or damp places.

Materials:

1. A container
2. An iPad (if you want a turbo slug time lapse video)
3. A clipboard
4. A pencil
5. Some paper

Steps of our experiment:

1. Go to the different spots

2. Look for slugs
3. Put them in a container
4. Make a time lapse video
5. Record results
Our Results:(pictures and graphs)

Here are some slugs in time lapse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uShztLWCRcI&feature=youtu.be

Discovery garden Courtyard Field

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This was kind of expected because the courtyard was the most damp.

Conclusion

Looking at our results, it is clear that our original hypothesis was right. One way we know it is right is that
we found more slugs in damp places. We think this happened because from our research we found that
slugs like more wet weather, that is why you see more slugs after it rains. Another interesting that that
happened was that all the slugs were in one place the courtyard. I think this was because the courtyard
was the most wet. In conclusion, it turns out that the moister the place is, the more slugs you would find. If
I were to do this again, one thing I would change would be to try to time it with the weather so then when
it rains, we will find more slugs.