Snails will take desperate risks when they are hungry

Snails will take desperate risks when they are hungry Today’s Video of the Day from EurekAlert reveals that snails are willing to take desperate risks when they are hungry.

A team of neuroscientists at the University of Sussex has found that starving pond snails can drastically alter their food preferences.

The study demonstrated that the snails will even eat potentially harmful substances when they are in survival mode.

Professor Kevin Staras explained, “Balancing risk and survival is common to most organisms and by focusing on pond snails as a model, we’re able to gain insight into similar mechanisms in complex animals where these questions are much more difficult to investigate.”
Dr. Michael Crossley added, “Our approach allows us to unravel the critical brain control mechanisms underlying decisions about when and what to eat.”
The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Snails are nocturnal animals, which means most of their activities take place at night. Snails don’t like the sunlight , which is why you find them out more on cloudy days. If you keep them in an aquarium, make sure that there is not too much sunlight in the room, or the snails will stop eating and hide inside their shell.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: EurekAlert