Road salt is used on roads in many areas of Wisconsin and the effect of this practice on the environment must be considered. Almost 1 million tons of salt are used on roads to melt snow each decade in America. With this large amount of an osmotically active substance in the environment, it likely affects freshwater ecosystems. The goal of our study is to determine the effect of road salt on marsh rams-horn snails (Helisoma trivolvis). Snails are ecologically important organisms because of their role as detritivores, hosts to parasites, and as an important food source. We conducted a five-week laboratory experiment where mature snails were exposed to ecologically relevant NaCl concentrations, the primary component of road salt, based on published literature from measurements in natural systems. Snail mass, size, and reproductive output was recorded bi-weekly. There was a statistically significant increase in the mass of snails exposed to salt compared to control snails kept without salt (p
