Rörelsemönster hos mördarsnigel Arion vulgaris i klippt och oklippt gräs

Sammanfattning: The Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris) is a problem both for commercial farmers and home gardeners in Europe, and it can negatively impact biodiversity. To limit its dispersal, it is important to understand the links between habitat use and behaviour. I tested if mowing had an effect on the movement pattern of the Spanish slug in a meadow. My hypothesis was that the slugs should move shorter distances during the day and longer distances at night if the grass was cut short than if the grass was kept high, because high grass may offer protection and food resources. I collected 92 Spanish slugs and tagged them with PIT tags. Sixty-eight slugs survived the tagging, and they were released in a meadow in Sätila, Sweden. The meadow was divided into two equally sized sections and 34 slugs were released in each section. On day one after releasing the slugs, 17 slugs were found alive and within the test area, those were included in the test.  In a first part of the study, I measured the movement of the slugs by a mobile antenna without altering the habitat. Before the second part of the test, I mowed the meadow in one section and kept the other section unaltered. The measurements from the telemetry survey showed that the slugs were moving faster at night than during the day time in both sections (mean ± SE = 25,8 ± 6,4 at night and 5.9 ± 1,7 cm/h during the day). In the second part of the test where the grass in one section had been cut, there was a slight trend that the slugs were moving slower at night in the short grass (25,9 ± 8,8) than in the high grass (48,8 ± 9,4 cm/h), in contrast to my hypothesis. The corresponding daytime values were 26,6 ± 9,0 in the short grass and 13,9 ± 3,4 cm/h in the high grass. My study was carried out under humid weather conditions. If the study was to be repeated in dry conditions, this may result in the slugs being exposed to sunlight during daytime, which would potentially impact their diel behaviour in the two habitats.