Invertebrate Ecology

The AEU undertakes research on marsh flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) as potential biological control agents of pestiferous slugs and of snail vectors of liver fluke disease. This research is particularly important since the banning of some chemical molluscicides for slug control and the development of resistance to anthelmintic drugs for liver fluke disease.

The Kerry Slug is a Lusitanean species restricted to north-western Iberia and the west of Ireland. Its presence in commercial conifer plantations has resulted in the AEU undertaking research on the known ecology and behaviour of the species so that it can be protected during forestry activities.

Carabus clatratus, found in wet areas, is a priority species in Northern Ireland due to its decline in western Europe. The AEU, in conjunction with the National Parks & Wildlife Service, undertook the first national survey of the species in Ireland.

Read publication: The effects of blanket bog management on ground beetles (Carabidae) with particular reference to the threatened Carabus clatratus L. Irish Wildlife Manuals No. 47