UK Nature and Environment

Using data from a project focused on slug species diversity in British gardens, researchers aimed to understand the accuracy of species identification and its impact on calculating species richness, abundance, and diversity.

Publishing their findings in the journal People and Nature, the scientists analysed the differences between the identifications made by project participants and the experienced slug researcher to give a unique insight in to how often mistakes in identification were made.

Led by Newcastle University and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the research team asked participants to carry out a torchlit search of their gardens once every four weeks, and to collect any slugs they found. Participants then attempted to identify them to species level, before sending them in to the researchers at RHS for identification. The scientists analysed the differences between the identifications made by project participants and the experienced slug researcher to give a unique insight in to how often mistakes in identification were made.