Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this manuscript, the authors investigated the locomotory behavior of water striders. The changes in load distribution on the legs and the effects of amputation on the locomotory behavior. Overall, this paper is very-well written and can be published almost as it is. The reviewer has the following minor comments.

Line 129-137, this list can be included in a table for better illustration.

The supplementary figures can be included in the main contents for better visibility if the page limit allows so.

In section 2.1, a drop of glue was used to immobilize the leg. Will the applied glue add additional weight to this leg?

Author Response

We are grateful for the kind review of the manuscript by the reviewer.  We have done our best to address the comments as best as we could. It is also a pleasure to receive encouraging remarks. The black and green fonts are used for the reviewer's comments and our responses, respectively.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper presents locomotory behavior of water striders with amputated legs. To observe the water striders with amputated legs, the authors prepared real water striders and cut a leg. By doing so, the authors could investigate the behavior. Overall, the paper is well written and organized especially in temrs of experiment. Furthermore, the contribution of the paper is clear. The paper is worth accepting.

Author Response

We appreciate the reviewer's encouraging comments and taking the time to review this manuscript.