Science 4th grade | UNIT 2: Living things and environment 2.2 A habitat for snails
Can you see the snail's shell? Can you see its eye stalks, mouth, and foot?
Snails eat the leaves, stems, roots and fruits of plants.
They have no teeth. They have rough tongues which they use to eat leaves.
They have moist skin that must not dry out.
They live under stones, rocks and leaves.
If the environment gets very dry, snails move back into their shells.
Snails can change the way they behave if the environment changes.
How could we observe snails to see where they like to live?
Challenge
If snails disappeared from their habitat, what would happen to the birds that like eating snails?
Questions
1) How do snails protect themselves when the environment is too dry?
2) How is a bird that eats snails suited to the place in which it lives?
Activity 2.2 (What habitat do snails like?)
You will need: a tray – leaves - dry stones - sand - small sticks - three snails
Design a choice tray like the one in the picture. Plan how you will test some snails to see where they like to be. How will you make the test fair? Think about each variable such as the colour of the tray, the light, the moisture and the surface of the tray. Do snails like dry places or damp places? Make a prediction.
Look for any pattern or trend in the results. Repeat the tests to get more useful results. Present your results as a bar chart.
Snail shells are often black or brown. How might this colouring be useful to the snail?
Some birds are adapted to eat snails They have good eyesight; they can move quickly and have strong beaks.
