Abstract
Tardigrades ( Macrobiotus sp., Echiniscus testudo) were videotaped when moving on single plants of mosses with different water retaining capacities. On a fully hydrated Encalyptra contorta plant encased in a continuous water column, tardigrades could hardly crawl rapidly in a specific direction. This was probably due to their low specific weight and the poor ability of their claws to cling to the substrate. As tardigrades were not able to walk on the undersurface of the leaves under these conditions, they were rinsed out of a fully soaked moss cushion in the course of time. Fully hydrated Polytrichum formosum plants did not show a visible water film and locomotion of tardigrades could not be observed on this moss. Activity of animals appeared to be confined to the droplets in the leaf axils. During dehydration, the tardigrades stopped moving and formed a tun on the spot.
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