A leech is an Annelid or segmented worm, which lives according to its category, whereas a slug is a Mollusk, which lives and survives wholly on plants. Leeches are worms, belonging to phylum Annelida and subclass Hirudinea. They are commonly called blood suckers and are applicable in medical fields and therapies. They do not possess the setae or bristles for locomotion, and hence their movement is conducted via the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Their bodies are solid, as the spaces in their coelom are dense with connective tissues. They also have two suckers, one at each end.
The reproduction in leeches is the same as that of earthworms, except that the sperms are stored in spermatophores, which are sacs outside the body of the leech. As leeches lack setae, they move with the help of the anterior and posterior suckers and longitudinal muscles along the length of the body.
Numerous varieties can live in or out of the water. Earthworms, on the other hand, live underground within soil, though others can be found within bunches of decaying leaves. However, the term "worm" is very broad and also applies to worms like hookworms, flatworms and inchworms, all of which can thrive in various habitats like water or may even be parasitic.
Snails move forward by undulating a muscular foot beneath its body, allowing it to inch along slowly, where the "slow as a snail" stereotype comes from.
They produce a viscous mucus to help reduce friction between their foot and the ground, accounting for the distinctive slime trails they leave. Earthworms and many other worms move by expanding and contracting their body segments, which push them along the ground or through porous soil. It may also widen its body and then narrow it out again to help it wedge between small spaces.
Snails have varying diets between species. Some eat plant material exclusively, and others eat plant material and detritus. Aquatic species may eat algae off the rocks or other surfaces. Earthworms ingest soil. Martin Harper Blog. How nature can help protect our homes Following the floods this winter, watch how one area is using nature as a natural protector.
Most popular bird guides this month Which bird song is that? Who to contact if you spot an injured or baby bird Read more advice about what to do if you find a bird that needs help. How green are you? See some of the ways you can get into green living. Marshside This fantastic wetland site is located north of Southport town centre and has some of the best wildlife in the region.
New research, however, suggests that there might be simple ways to ward off slug damage. Further, higher plant diversity also decreases the destruction slugs can wreak on individual plants. To come to these findings, the researchers used large incubators to create mini grassland ecosystems in a laboratory setting. Different incubators contained different levels of plant diversity—between three to 12 species of either grasses, forbs , or legumes.
After four weeks of plant growth, researchers introduced to the soil of some of the incubators a healthy amount earthworms about per square meter who were free to burrow, convert organic matter into richer and more fertile soil, aerate soil, excrete nutrients in a more accessible form for plants and do the myriad of other things that earthworms do. Five weeks later, two Spanish slugs Arion vulgaris —a critter in the top worst alien species of Europe according to projects funded by the European Commission —were added to select micro-ecosystems and left there for one week.
Throughout this week, plants were monitored periodically for slug damage. Instead, the mere presence of earthworms reduced the number of leaves damaged due to slugs by 60 percent.
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