PHYSIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON STARVATION AND DESICCATION OF THE SNAIL AUSTRALORBIS GLABRATUS

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Abstract
The lower the humidity (range tested: 96 to 15% relative humidity) the more rapid was the decline of survival time, body weight, and rate of O2 consumption. Snails starving in water died more rapidly than snails kept at 96% relative humidity. The heart rate declined in these 2 groups; at lower humidities it showed many irregularities, including a transitory phase of increased rate. Starving and desiccating snails consume from their body reserves polysac-charides, lipids, and lactic and volatile acids. It follows from the relation of the quantities of these substances and the O2 consumed that during prolonged starvation and desiccation also large amounts of proteins must be consumed. It is emphasized that tissue hydration decreases during desiccation at a slower rate than the percentage of total body water lost.