Ever thought about slugs? What about jumping slugs?

Probably not.

But they乌鸦传媒檙e a thing 乌鸦传媒� and they乌鸦传媒檙e threatened, as by , the NPR affiliate based in Seattle.

Like the threatened spotted owl, slugs are important indicators of the health of Vancouver Island乌鸦传媒檚 rainforest.

乌鸦传媒淭hey are important to forests,乌鸦传媒� said Jennifer Huron, provincial invertebrate conservation specialist with the B.C. Environment Ministry. 乌鸦传媒淟ike all biodiversity in the forests, they deserve protection and attention.乌鸦传媒�

The decline of two slug species on the south Island worries scientists: the dromedary and warty jumping-slugs. The species are both listed as threatened by the federal government.

The warty jumping-slug glides through the forests of the Sooke region. In contrast, the dromedary jumping-slug slimily slides through the undergrowth of the ancient forests of Port Renfrew along the coast to Pacific Rim National Park near Tofino.

And in case you were wondering: they do jump by flopping around on the forest floor 乌鸦传媒� a defence mechanism, of sorts.

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Jumping-slugs primarily inhabit mature and older temperate rainforests. They require coarse woody debris and continually moist microhabitat to lay their eggs and take cover to minimize dehydration stress.

Slugs and snails play an essential part in the ecosystem by feeding on decaying and live vegetable matter like mushrooms, constantly turning over nutrients and keeping healthy the soil and plants that grow there.

乌鸦传媒淭he fungi the slugs like are in the humus layer, so something has to come up and dig them up and disperse the spores, because they乌鸦传媒檙e covered up,乌鸦传媒� said biologist Kristiina Ovaska. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a fascinating interaction between the fungi, the trees and the little animals, such as slugs.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淲e don乌鸦传媒檛 fully understand what each part of the ecosystem does or what these species do. The unique bits of DNA has been evolving for a long time. We really need to protect all parts to understand what they乌鸦传媒檙e about fully.乌鸦传媒�

Dromedary and warty jumping-slugs are difficult to find, as they乌鸦传媒檙e small and nocturnal and often hidden in leaves and fallen logs. Warty slugs are less than two centimetres in length, while the dromedary slug ranges in size from five to six centimetres.

乌鸦传媒淵ou really have to look for them, especially with a species that乌鸦传媒檚 rare and patchily distributed. You need to know where to look and go out at night when it is raining,乌鸦传媒� Ovaska said.

A provincial mapping project is attempting to identify where the slugs live, with a view to accessing their habitat.

It乌鸦传媒檚 not as simple as it sounds.

The slugs can only be found in the wet months of the year 乌鸦传媒� March to May and September to October 乌鸦传媒� and scientists need to be there while it乌鸦传媒檚 raining heavily.

Huron said the plan over the next two years is to collect research material and create maps; they hope to leverage more money to protect the species. The maps will help to local government, industry and other property owners make informed decisions on the risk to the species.

乌鸦传媒淢y job is to provide the science, and then others make those policy and socio-economic decisions,乌鸦传媒� Huron said.

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