Locomotion on the Water Surface

from the laboratory of

Robert B. Suter, PhD

Vassar College

Double-click on the image to the right to view QuickTime movie of a Dolomedes rowing across the water surface.

 

Note that both the spider and its shadow are shown. The shadow is informative because it reveals both what parts of the spider are resting on the water surface (leg tips and body) and how dimple depth changes during the rowing stroke (dimple depth is linearly related to shadow area).

Organisms
Gaits and Modes
Propulsive Mechanisms
Relevance of Size
Images
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Modified: February 2000

Comments: suter@vassar.edu