Effect of Tree Species on the Distribution of Slugs

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Abstract
Relative densities of slugs in 13 stands of forest trees, near Ithaca, New York, [USA], were examined by trapping slugs with metaldehyde bait. The study plots had similar climates, soil origins, topographic positions and histories. Slug species were not limited to 1 or a few closely related tree species; therefore, slugs do not form specific associations with trees. Although the quantity and quality of food available to slugs depended on the tree species present, Arion subfuscus was abundant in all plots. Hence, in wooded areas, its distribution is independent of food availability. A. fasciatus and Deroceras laeve were absent from stands of pine and spruce, except where deciduous ground cover was present. It was suggested that this distribution is dependent on food availability. Several slug species were most abundant under trees whose mature foliage had a high Ca content. These trees included tulip poplar, black locust and white ash.

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