Contact-rehydration in slugs is mediated by a specific behavioural pattern in which dehydrated slugs move onto a moist surface, assume a flattened posture while water is absorbed through the surface of the foot and move off once they are rehydrated. ‘Drinking behaviour’ is initiated when slugs have been dehydrated to the threshold level of 60–70% of initial body weight (IBW). Drinking behaviour is terminated once slugs have rehydrated to their individual rehydration set-points. The mean ‘rehydration set-point’ for Limax is 93.6 +/− 12.2% IBW (+/− S.D.). Slugs can achieve their individual set-point regardless of the extent of initial dehydration. Drinking behaviour can be initiated by injections of hyperosmotic mannitol solution and terminated by injections of dilute saline. This indicates that variation in the osmolality of the haemolymph is involved in the control of the behavioural sequence.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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