An Artificial Medium for Feeding Choice Experiments with Slugs
1982; Wiley; Volume: 19; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/2402993
ISSN1365-2664
Autores Tópico(s)Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies
Resumo(1) A calcium alginate gel formula was modified for use in feeding trials with slugs. (2) This gel can be prepared without excessive heating and can therefore be used to incorporate whole plant extracts or pure chemicals for assessment of their contribution to plant acceptability. (3) Tests with the gel showed it to be as acceptable as lettuce in standard choice experiments with Arion subfuscus. (4) Weight measurements showed a slightly higher growth rate of slugs fed on a standard lettuce diet than on the medium. However, variance of slug weights was reduced for the group of slugs fed on the medium. (5) An experiment comparing old and young lettuce leaves showed that the preference of slugs for young leaves was reflected also in the gels, suggesting that leaf chemistry was at least partly responsible.
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