Animal News
Snails can explore the length of an average British garden in a single
night and reach a top speed of one meter per hour, a new study has
revealed. Scientists examined the habits of 450 garden snails, recording
their movements using LED lights, UV paints and time-lapse photography.
This is the first time snails have been studied in this way, creating
some unexpectedly spectacular images.
The findings revealed how snails
will travel distances of up to 25 metres in a 24-hour period and
seek out areas of shelter including long grass or dogs' toys left in a
garden overnight. Four researchers from Exeter University also
discovered that snails move in convoys, piggy-backing on the slime of
other snails to conserve energy. The study found that a snail could use
up to 30% of its energy in slime production alone.
It was commissioned as a resource for dog owners, whose pets are at risk
from a potentially fatal parasite spread by slugs and snails -
the lungworm Angiostrongylus vasorum.
The parasite is contracted when dogs accidentally swallow even the
smallest slugs or snails, which can be found in toys, puddles and long
grass. Dr Dave Hodgson, associate professor of ecology at the University
of Exeter, said: "Until now no one has fully understood the habits of
these fascinating creatures that we encounter in our gardens every day.
"By learning more about the behavior of snails, we hope dog owners can
better understand they ways in which dogs can encounter snails on a
day-to-day basis and the lungworm risk they present, taking the
appropriate precautions." In recent years, slugs and snails have enjoyed
a population explosion due to increasing wet weather and favorable
breeding conditions.
Last year, the Royal Horticultural Society reported a 50% increase in
slug numbers.
More:
Snails move more rapidly than previously thought and are responsible for spreading a fatal dog parasite, say scientists.
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