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The Secret Life of the Creatures of Yoshida Dormitory
ー Snails/Slugs ー
There are many living creatures that reside in Yoshida Dormitory.
The gardens in the dorm’s courtyards create a mini habitat where a large number of species can flourish.
These creatures have been living in Yoshida Dormitory ever since it was established 105 years ago. You could even call them the dorm’s oldest residents!
We created this page to show people the charm of Yoshida Dormitory from a totally new angle. Our dorm is not only a home to students, but also to many animals such as snails and slugs.
There are many ways of looking at life. If we open ourselves up to learning new things about the environment around us, together we can make the world a better place.
Snails and Slugs in Yoshida Dormitory
文責/撮影 なめこ
Yoshida Dormitory Garden
Yoshida Dormitory has gardens to the north of the northern building, in between the northern and central buildings, in between the central and southern buildings and to the south of the southern building. Each of these gardens contains large, mature aged trees. In the garden to the north of the northern building, the shade from the trees and the dense undergrowth have created the conditions for a large population of snails and slugs to flourish. On the other hand, in the garden between the northern building and the central building and the garden between the central building and the southern building, chickens have eaten much of the undergrowth, meaning that snails and slugs can only be found under the larger trees.
In addition to this, snails can be found under the trees and in the bushes in the area near the carpark to the south of the southern building and they are occasionally even run over by cars.
Garden north of the northern building
Garden between the northern and central buildings
Garden between the central and southern buildings
Garden south of the southern building
Distribution of species
Yoshida Dormitory’s snails and slugs are made up of six native species and three introduced species. This ratio of native to foreign species is normal for a regular urban garden. However, because the environment in the Yoshida Dormitory gardens is particularly diverse, containing a wide variety of trees and plants, the number of snail and slug species is also especially large. Furthermore, if there were no chickens in the garden between the northern and central building and the garden between the central and southern building, it is thought that the number of snail and slug species in these areas would be the same as in the garden to the north of the northern building.
