Mastodawn

Petra van Cronenburg

Please don't boost #aislop !

This slop graphic went #viral in my timeline on Mastodon. Commentators found the source in a FB slop page, and biologists in the comments tell the facts. Nevertheless, people burst into enthusiasm, so little do they know about nature. #AISlop sites on big platforms gather about 250k followers.

I did a fact-check about real snails.
You can read it here: https://steady.page/en/naturematchcuts/posts/28951404-a41f-4215-ab89-bc35dbc41233

#snail #snails #animalsave #NatureMatchCuts #biodiversity #reconnectWithNature #blog

@NatureMC I fell for this one, too.

Will you explain how a snail can heal their house, when it is damaged within a few days, if they are placed in a humid container with nettles (rich in calzium) to eat? I tried that one and it really works.

I would say the same way we can heal our bones.

@lichtscheu I intended to say: if you write an article about snails, will you include how you can help a snail heal their shell, if it is cracked. I didn't mean the internal processes. Afaik they have some glands to do the job, but I'm not sure. It is not done by cell division quite certainly.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 25

@sibylle I'm so sorry but the article was already long enough: https://steady.page/en/naturematchcuts/posts/28951404-a41f-4215-ab89-bc35dbc41233

So I didn't write about their methods of repairing but if you have questions, you can ask me here!

Snails Or Slop Slime

You're probably all familiar with those pages on the big social media platforms that run as “entertainment” and steal content wherever they can. The main thing is to…

Steady

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 25

@sibylle and perhaps this can help you with informations about shells and shell building: https://www.carnegiemnh.org/science/mollusks/forestcalcium.html @lichtscheu

Mollusks : Carnegie Museum of Natural History

@NatureMC @lichtscheu ha! We also have tigers (limax maximus) on the cat food when it is warmer. Being a night active species they arrive at dusk, and are gone later. I often wonder if they remember where they have all you can eat buffet, or if they are attracted by the smell every evening.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@sibylle I'm not a specialist. But land snails and slugs have very good olfactory senses, they also communicate via pheromones. They can find food and sense dangers, or if the slime comes from snales ready to mate. The olfactory organs sit at the top of the tentacles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastropoda#Sensory_organs_and_nervous_system

I suppose that your tigers hide near the food or just smell it from elsewhere.
Here, they are extremely rare but I could attract two with a bit of cat food. Meatlovers.😉

Gastropoda - Wikipedia

@NatureMC they are actually quite fast compared to other slugs...

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@sibylle mini-raptors. 😁

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 25

@sibylle @lichtscheu My article has the title "Snails Or Slop Slime". 😈 I won't expose this person here who perhaps just believed it, but the real stealing and faking pseudoinfluencers.
And I'll try to explain a little bit about snails.
Yes, snails can do repairs with calcium: https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/24/4/857/116430?redirectedFrom=PDF
They even don't need to eat it, they take it also by soil contact, e.g. on calcium rich soil and stones. It's just slower, if they have to search themselves ...

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 25

@sibylle @lichtscheu I'll dive into writing my article now. Ask me questions after reading it. 😉

Angela Glansbury 🚽Feb 25

@NatureMC
looking forward to some quality snail facts 😸

down with snail slop👎

Angela Glansbury 🚽Feb 25

@NatureMC
great snail facts, thanks for taking the time to write this

👍

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@floppyplopper And thanks for reading it! You motivate me to write more about nature.

Helenisenough Feb 25

@NatureMC I'm following just so I don't miss your article. We have lots of snails, a sign of a healthy garden, I hope.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 25

@Helenisenough Thanks! Yes, it is.
My article just got finished: https://steady.page/en/naturematchcuts/posts/28951404-a41f-4215-ab89-bc35dbc41233 and is sent out to my newsletter subscribers.

Snails Or Slop Slime

You're probably all familiar with those pages on the big social media platforms that run as “entertainment” and steal content wherever they can. The main thing is to…

Steady

@NatureMC Thank you for clearing that up! I saw that post last night, had this moment of "oh my, I can't believe I didn't know this" and was about to click on boost when the doubt set in. It was late and I didn't want to research it instead of going to bed, but I was pretty sure it couldn't be true. When I was a kid I used to gather snails and let them free in the garden after a while. I would have realized if I would have harmed them. The only person harmed was my horrified grandfather.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

Incidentally, this is precisely the trick used by the ‘nature hacks’ sites I described: you are taken aback because no one ever taught you this. And people love to learn. Then curiosity overcomes your inner critic, and the site gains more fans.
It reminds me of the false urban myths we learned in the 1960s. For example, that your stomach will burst if you drink something after eating cherries. I believed that for far too long. It was a false statement in combination. But still

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@Aileme believable, because at that time tap water was often very contaminated with germs. And they went to the gut, stimulated by the fruit.

So this AI slops *sounds* like a cringe story your mother could have told you ... but there's no culture behind, no tradition, or experience.

@NatureMC We even used to play a game called "Kirschen essen" as children
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCde_%E2%80%93_matt_%E2%80%93_marode

Müde – matt – marode – Wikipedia

Lappenjammer Feb 25

@NatureMC I enjoyed reading this and learned a lot. I trust you, human!

Thanks for also making me think about snails being invited for snail cake across the path.

@NatureMC Sn-AI-l Slop

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@autisticplushy 👍🏼

Merlin Gillard 🚋😷Feb 26

@NatureMC Thank you so much for this! It is so weird that this AI slop is repeatedly boosted... When I saw the post first, I had a hunch that the graphics, tone & content were slightly off, but I wasn't sure why. I was glad to see comments pointing it was AI, and now that you took the time to write this article!

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@merling You're welcome.
My decision to write that article didn't come from Mastodon. But when I saw the possible original site at FB with something about 250k Followers, claiming to be specialists in nature and targeting the same audience like me with my podcast. I searched how they use the algorithms and get a reach over other big platforms.
And after some heavy attacks of AI scraping bots on my website, I got angry/creative.
The problem are not single persons who may fall for a "nice pic" and

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@merling perhaps don't know it better (it sounds so true). The problem are the scrapers and the large organised AI waste dumpers. Often they have several cloned websites. Some have fake media sites: even journalists have to look very carefully, they are perfectly forged ... for propaganda and slop.

gnaddrig Feb 26

@NatureMC
Thanks for pointing this out.

Funny detail: The AI writes "4. Place in direction it was heading", but the picture shows the snail being put down in the opposite direction, not the one shown in 1., so the text contradicts the illustration.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@gnaddrig Yes, that's one of the more funny facettes. 😁 You can find more (the "seal") but I didn't want to bore people.

gnaddrig Feb 26

@NatureMC
What about the "seal"? That would require some level of knowledge about snails, mere inconsistencies are easier to spot without knowing anything about the topic.

I'd be interested in the seal thing, though.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@gnaddrig It's easy: snails and slugs don't have any "seal" on their foot. (Trying too hard to understand slop can distract the brain from more important things.)

But land snails can close their aperture, the opening of their shell, with a very thick, hardening slime. It's a protection against dehydration, cold, and enemies: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/snails-and-slugs.html
In spring, after a drought, they eat it from inside and come out again. If you see snails with such a plug: they are not dead, only protected. 1/2

For the love of snails and slugs | Natural History Museum

‘I love snails and slugs! I just think they’re fascinating,’ says Jon Ablett, our Curator of Molluscs.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@gnaddrig #Knowledge: No one can know everything. Before I write a text, I also have to read up on a lot of things. My tip: be very vigilant with #LLM texts, it's better to check twice.
And then don't google the claims, but rather look them up in Wikipedia or on scientifically sound websites. I like natural history museums, e.g., for such questions. In social media you can find also experts who can explain things really well, like here @dantheclamman for everything about #clams.

EevaXTiina Feb 26

@NatureMC Sharing is boosting. Kindly do not.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@EevaXTiina Then thank you for having shared my article! May it go viral. 😁 https://steady.page/en/naturematchcuts/posts/28951404-a41f-4215-ab89-bc35dbc41233

Snails Or Slop Slime

You're probably all familiar with those pages on the big social media platforms that run as “entertainment” and steal content wherever they can. The main thing is to…

Steady

@NatureMC thank you, this seemed like BS when it popped up in my timeline. Thanks for the explanations!

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@JennyFluff you're welcome. It was a delightful opportunity for me to write about nature again. 😁

Dan Hatton Feb 26

@NatureMC Addendum: I'm sure I saw a different version, perhaps about a year ago, with the same claim about mantle collapse, but different advice for how to avoid it. I'm presuming from the comments from biology specialists that was equally nonsense.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@only_ohm There are many ... and many accounts, sites ... Next time we will see human bodies with snail parts. 😎
Meanwhile, it's a pain to dig through the crap.
On Mastodon, I just saw a debate about journalism and some non-journalist tried to "fact-check" news with Gemini! Gemini! 😱 🥶

I would like to travel to another planet!

@NatureMC Thank you! Informative and enlightening. We avoid harming any creature in the garden.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@_daisy That's fine! 😊 Thank you for the feedback!

@NatureMC 💯 on the no ai slop recommendation, but are there really a significant amount of people on fb now advocating saving the snails!?

My whole gardening and permaculture feeds are always full of people wanting them gone.

My garden crows lift them up and drop them on the concrete with a satisfying crunch, so they're easier to snack on and I was always thinking that's normal and good behavior...

Am I the baddie?

🤯🤯🤯

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@iwein Well, as you can read in my article, most of the land snails are important for the soil food chain and soil health, and gardeners should differ between species. I am surprised that permaculture experts could know so little about this?

I don't know if you are a baddie but for your crows it's natural behaviour. Natural enemies can be garden helpers against the damaging species.
Are you a crow? 😉

Spoken from France, where people still eat Helix pomatia: Even here these snails are under

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@iwein protection: you can collect only bigger sizes and during a fixed time. You see: Homo sapiens isn't a crow yet. 😎

For the amount on FB: If you are there, your algorithms may be adapted. I'm not on FB and use a completely dead account for research only. So I don't see recommendations. But the main sites I found as origin of the crap, have about 250k followers each. And their comments are full of hearts and aww. Probably also AI-fake-accounts. But I'm not paid enough to research this.

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@iwein And *yes*, everywhere in the world are people being interested in more #respect for living beings and #nature. They try to shift their perspective from #anthropocentrism and human hubris to #reciprocity.
I warmly recommend to read Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass as an intro into a different way of thinking.
And even exams for professional gardeners e.g. in Germany, don't speak about pests or weeds anymore. Times are changing slowly.

#bookstodon #natureRights #indigenous

@NatureMC Thank you for the very boostable thread on this. Here's a nice sunset over the food forest for you.

Santtu Sammakko Feb 26

@NatureMC So, your advice isn't for pet snails? Well, I had a pet snail as a kid (giant African land snail in English, I think). I had them for maybe two years, and used to grab their shell to lift them quite a lot. Well... over time, their body/foot/whatever started to detach from the shell. 😬 They liked to hang upside down from the lid of the 'tank' (a plastic box lol), but eventually their shell hung _considerably_ lower than before, which looked quite painful... (cont.)

Santtu Sammakko Feb 26

@NatureMC (cont.) We decided to put them down because of that.
So, is it different for pet snails? If so, why? Because you lift them up more often? Or because the surface of a tank/plastic box is so smooth it _does_ create a vacuum? I'm no expert on snails... What could I have done to prevent the damage? I feel bad for my deceased pet snail. :/

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@Santtu_Sammakko Indeed, I write mainly about European garden snails (and slugs) because:
- I don't know anything about pet snails.
- These giant snails are very different (alone with their weight/food etc).
- These snails mostly don't live in natural conditions (your plastic box e.g.) and are not treated naturally (pets).
So it's better to ask a veterinary specialised in such species.

What I can say: yes, of course, plastic or glass is smoother than soil or asphalt! It could had helped perhaps

Petra van Cronenburg Feb 26

@Santtu_Sammakko to get them retracted before. But it could have been also something about food, I am not a clairvoyant. 😉
It's sad that you've lost your pet. You were a kid: it's the adults who have to know how to keep a pet. My tip if you want to keep a pet, no matter what kind: familiarise yourself well with their natural needs and behaviour *beforehand*. And keep them as naturally as possible.

Santtu Sammakko Feb 26

@NatureMC Oh, I see. Well, I suppose it was mostly because I grabbed their shell like that... but dunno. I asked for advice on some forum, but don't remember the replies anymore.
It was my dad's idea to get the snail and, well, we both have ADHD... 😅 None in our family knew much about snails. I LOVED watching the garden snails as a kid, but that's pretty much it. I guess my parents just trusted the pet shop keeper on the food etc. If I ever get a new snail, I'll try to be more careful...

Rin 💖 (Mari 💙) // &Mar 10

I boosted this mistakenly but can't find who I boosted it from. Maybe they deleted the post. Otherwise I would've blocked them.