How do banana slugs contribute to forest nutrient cycling?

• A. By aerating the soil.
• B. By decomposing detritus and fungi, recycling nutrients back into the soil.
• C. By fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
• D. By producing large amounts of litter.

Answer: (B)

Forest nutrient cycling relies on detritivores that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil. Banana slugs feed on decomposing plant litter and on fungi, fragmenting this material as they eat. Their digestion and subsequent excretion release nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil, making them available for plant uptake again. This process helps move nutrients from the litter layer into soil pools and supports microbial activity and plant growth.

Other options don’t fit because aerating the soil is mainly done by burrowing organisms like earthworms; nitrogen fixation is carried out by certain bacteria, not by banana slugs; and producing large amounts of litter is about creating material, whereas banana slugs contribute to recycling by consuming and processing existing detritus.