Tiny Traveller
"Snails are often the unsung heroes of ecosystems! Snails are essential to the decomposition process by eating decaying and dead vegetation and leaving behind nutrient-rich feces in the soil. Also, once snails have died, their bodies and shells decompose and provide a source of calcium to the habitat. Their relationship to the soil is also helpful to us in other ways. By paying attention to the snail population of a place, we can learn what is to come for certain ecosystems. Snails can act as an indicator species as they are very sensitive to soil changes. For example, less snails in an area that previously had more could mean there is an ecological issue like the soil becoming more acidic. Keeping an eye on populations of species at risk like snails is one of the many ways we can monitor ecosystems in the park to help inform conservation projects. "
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parks.canada.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/nature/faune-wildlife/esca...