Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Whole Body Regeneration01:33

Whole Body Regeneration

3.4K
Regeneration is the process of restoring injured or lost tissues, organs, or body parts. While simpler organisms generally show greater ability to regenerate their whole body, few complex animals show similarly exceptional regeneration. For example, planarian flatworms have a unique regenerative potential making them a popular study organism among biologists to understand the mechanisms of whole body regeneration. Other organisms, such as hydra, also show extreme regeneration potential;...
3.4K
Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

41.6K
Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow...
41.6K
Cell Adhesion in Plants01:14

Cell Adhesion in Plants

2.9K
Plants have rigid cell walls that are made up of cell wall polysaccharides that mediate cell-cell adhesion. The primary cell walls of plants consist of two independent and interacting polysaccharide networks: a pectin matrix that embeds the second network comprising cellulose and hemicelluloses.
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose,...
2.9K
Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores02:40

Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores

13.2K
Plants often form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi or bacteria to enhance their roots’ nutrient uptake ability. Root-colonizing fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae) increase a plant’s root surface area, which promotes nutrient absorption. While root-colonizing, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., rhizobia) convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), making nitrogen available to plants for various biological functions. For example, nitrogen is essential for the...
13.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Moo-ving mountains: grazing agents drive terracette formation on steep hillslopes.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2026
Same author

Bridging Science Across Species: A Biomechanics Outreach Event at the Zoo.

Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England)·2026
Same author

Gait transitions in load-pulling quadrupeds: insights from sled dogs and a minimal spring-loaded inverted pendulum model.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2026
Same author

A centrin-Sfi1 myoneme fishnet powers ultrafast calcium-triggered contraction in the giant ciliate <i>Spirostomum ambiguum</i>.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Controlling noisy herds: Temporal network restructuring improves control of indecisive collectives.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Light-induced assembly and repeatable actuation in Ca<sup>2+</sup>-driven chemomechanical protein networks.

Nature communications·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 14, 2025

Planarian Immobilization, Partial Irradiation, and Tissue Transplantation
10:09

Planarian Immobilization, Partial Irradiation, and Tissue Transplantation

Published on: August 6, 2012

19.7K

Adhesion and Injury Cues Enhance Blackworm Capture by Freshwater Planaria.

Ishant Tiwari1, Hiteshri Chudasama1, Harry Tuazon1

  • 1School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.

Integrative and Comparative Biology
|July 24, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Freshwater planarians (Dugesia spp.) use a dual adhesion mechanism to capture prey, immobilizing even large California blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus). Injured prey increases vulnerability, aiding planarian detection and consumption.

More Related Videos

A Planarian Motility Assay to Gauge the Biomodulating Properties of Natural Products
07:13

A Planarian Motility Assay to Gauge the Biomodulating Properties of Natural Products

Published on: May 30, 2020

5.9K
Planarian Scrunching as a Quantitative Behavioral Readout for Noxious Stimuli Sensing
10:15

Planarian Scrunching as a Quantitative Behavioral Readout for Noxious Stimuli Sensing

Published on: July 30, 2020

7.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 14, 2025

Planarian Immobilization, Partial Irradiation, and Tissue Transplantation
10:09

Planarian Immobilization, Partial Irradiation, and Tissue Transplantation

Published on: August 6, 2012

19.7K
A Planarian Motility Assay to Gauge the Biomodulating Properties of Natural Products
07:13

A Planarian Motility Assay to Gauge the Biomodulating Properties of Natural Products

Published on: May 30, 2020

5.9K
Planarian Scrunching as a Quantitative Behavioral Readout for Noxious Stimuli Sensing
10:15

Planarian Scrunching as a Quantitative Behavioral Readout for Noxious Stimuli Sensing

Published on: July 30, 2020

7.1K

Area of Science:

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Predator-Prey Dynamics
  • Invertebrate Biology

Background:

  • Freshwater planarians (Dugesia spp.) are known predators in aquatic ecosystems.
  • Understanding their prey capture mechanisms is crucial for aquatic food web dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the predatory interactions between Dugesia spp. and California blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus).
  • To elucidate the behavioral and biomechanical adaptations involved in planarian prey capture.

Main Methods:

  • Observational study of predation events.
  • Analysis of planarian adhesion and prey immobilization strategies.
  • Examination of prey escape behaviors and planarian ingestion mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Dugesia spp. can capture prey more than twice its own length.
  • A dual adhesion mechanism (to prey and substrate) effectively immobilizes Lumbriculus variegatus.
  • Planarian adhesion frequently overcomes blackworm escape responses, regardless of prey size.
  • Injured blackworms show increased vulnerability, suggesting chemical cue detection.

Conclusions:

  • Dugesia spp. possess specialized adaptations for subduing and consuming large, mobile prey.
  • The study highlights the biomechanics of predation involving muscular hydrostats.
  • Chemical cues from prey injury may play a role in prey detection for planarians.