Invasion of non-native species is among the top threats for the biodiversity and functioning of native and agricultural ecosystems worldwide. We investigated whether the herbivory of the slug Arion vulgaris (formerly Arion lusitanicus; Gastropoda), that is listed among the 100 worst alien species in Europe, is affected by soil organisms commonly present in terrestrial ecosystems (i.e. earthworms—Annelida: Lumbricidae and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi—AMF, Glomerales). We hypothesized that slug herbivory would be affected by soil organisms via altered plant nutrient availability and plant quality. In a greenhouse experiment, we created a simple plant community consisting of a grass, a forb, and a legume species and inoculated these systems with either two earthworm species and/or four AMF taxa. Slugs were introduced after plants were established. Earthworms significantly reduced total slug herbivory in AMF-inoculated plant communities (P = 0.013). Across plant species, earthworms increased leaf total N and secondary metabolites, AMF decreased leaf thickness. Mycorrhizae induced a shift in slug feeding preference from non-legumes to legumes; the grass was generally avoided by slugs. AMF effects on legume herbivory can partly be explained by the AMF-induced increase in total N and decrease in C/N ratio; earthworm effects are less clear as no worm-induced alterations of legume plant chemistry were observed. The presence of earthworms increased average AMF colonization of plant roots by 140 % (P < 0.001). Total shoot mass was significantly increased by AMF (P < 0.001). These data suggest that the feeding behavior of this invasive slug is altered by a belowground control of plant chemical quality and community structure.

中文翻译：

---

模型草原群落中入侵蛞蝓的食草行为可能受到蚯蚓和菌根真菌的影响


非本地物种的入侵是全球本地和农业生态系统生物多样性和功能的最大威胁之一。我们调查了欧洲 100 种最恶劣外来物种之一的蛞蝓 Arion vulgaris（以前称为 Arion lusitanicus；腹足纲）的食草性是否受到陆地生态系统中常见的土壤生物（即蚯蚓 - 环节动物：蚓科和丛枝菌根）的影响。真菌——AMF、肾小球目）。我们假设蛞蝓草食性会通过改变植物养分利用率和植物质量而受到土壤生物的影响。在温室实验中，我们创建了一个由草、禾本科植物和豆科植物组成的简单植物群落，并用两种蚯蚓和/或四种 AMF 类群接种这些系统。植物建立后引入蛞蝓。蚯蚓显着减少了接种 AMF 的植物群落中的草食性蛞蝓总数 (P = 0.013)。在植物物种中，蚯蚓增加了叶片总氮和次生代谢物，AMF 降低了叶片厚度。菌根导致蛞蝓的摄食偏好从非豆类转向豆类；蛞蝓通常会避开草丛。 AMF 对豆科草食动物的影响部分可以通过 AMF 诱导的总氮增加和 C/N 比下降来解释。蚯蚓的影响不太清楚，因为没有观察到蠕虫引起的豆科植物化学变化。蚯蚓的存在使植物根部的平均 AMF 定殖增加了 140% (P < 0.001)。 AMF 显着增加了总芽质量 (P < 0.001)。这些数据表明，这种入侵性蛞蝓的摄食行为通过地下植物化学质量和群落结构的控制而改变。