Climate change alters slug abundance but not herbivory in a temperate grassland

plots was related to the significantly higher quality of available forage, though it should be noted that no significant effect of slug exclusion (i.e., herbivory) was measured at this time. It appears that while the climate treatments altered both slug abundance and forage quality in late summer and early fall, the ecological impact of the slugs as grazers remained unchanged. These findings illustrate that the climate treatments can indirectly influence slug Fig 6. Average %N (a) and C:N (b) (± S.E.) of bulk forage harvested from the climate treatments over the 2013 growing season. Letters indicated significant differences within a given harvest date. There were no significant differences across climate treatments on the first harvest date. Fescue growing season was March 15-October 15 with harvests occurring mid-May, early August, and mid-October. Seasons are defined as: winter—December-February, spring—March-May, summer—June-August, and fall—September-November. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283128.g006 PLOS ONE Slug herbivory & climate change PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283128 March 14, 2023 13 / 17