Kerry Slug - Threats To The Survival of The Species

Threats To The Survival of The Species

The most serious threat to the species is probably modification of the habitat, which reduces its lichen and moss food sources. This can lead to the local disappearance of the species, which was documented in Spain. Other threats include: intensification of land use (land reclamation, using of pesticides, overgrazing by sheep, removing of shrubs, building gardens, burning, and building roads and highways), tourism, general development pressure, coniferous forest plantations, the spread of invasive species of plants such as Rhododendron ponticum and habitat fragmentation (see also Moorkens 2006).

Other potential dangers to the species include climate change and air pollution, because these negatively affect the lichens which are a food source for the slug. Climate change will probably affect the Iberian populations more seriously, because the climate there is already on the hot and dry side relative to Ireland, which is generally rather cool and damp.

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