Meeting Abstract
Early life exposure to certain environmental factors can have drastic effects on a developing organism’s phenotype. Many species have been shown to change morphology and behavior when in the presence of a predator. The amphipod Hyalella azteca is a widely used model organism in toxicology studies, but few studies have explored the effects predators may have during development. One of the primary prey of juvenile longear sunfish (Lepomis megolatis) is amphipods (e.g., H. azteca). The present study investigates various growth metrics of juvenile H. azteca when exposed to predator-related cues (kairomones). Amphipods were placed into replicate containers both as isolated individuals and as groups of three individuals and then exposed to either water containing kairomones from the longear sunfish or water alone (control) for a period of 30 days. Morphometric measurements were taken on day 10, 20, and 30 to track the morphometrics of growth. After the exposure period amphipods were tested for behavioral responses. The results will be interpreted based on our hypothesis that individuals exposed to the longear kairomones will develop a phenotype that reduces vulnerability to fish predation.
