Meeting Abstract
P3.121 Sunday, Jan. 6 THE EFFECT OF THE PATHOGENIC BACTERIUM VIBRIO CAMPBELLII ON FATIGUE IN THE ATLANTIC BLUE CRAB, CALLINECTES SAPIDUS, DURING SUSTAINED EXERCISE ROMAN, M. R.*; BURNETT, K. G.; BURNETT, L. E.; College of Charleston; College of Charleston; College of Charleston mdr8306@uncw.edu
The Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is a highly mobile crustacean that must locomote daily to perform various activities, such as finding food, finding mates, avoiding predation, and migrating. The ability of a blue crab to become and remain active, while resisting fatigue, may be necessary for survival. In this study, we tested the effects of a bacterial injection of Vibrio campbellii (2.5 × 104Vibrio g–1 crab) on fatigue in the Atlantic blue crab during sustained exercise. Fatigue was induced by having a crab walk on an underwater treadmill and was quantified as a percent decrease in grip force that a crab could exert when pulling on an underwater mesh net. The holding behavior on the net mimicked the mate guarding behavior of a male crab during copulation with a female. A crab was considered fatigued when it pulled with a force of less than 67% of a pre-exercise pull force value. On average, control crabs injected with saline became fatigued in 5.6 h (±0.31 s.e.m.), while those injected with Vibrio became fatigued in 3.5 h (±0.21 s.e.m.). Vibrio-injected crabs exhibited a quicker increase in the number of fatigue-indicating behaviors (180° turns or stops) over time and had overall lower pull force values than saline injected crabs. These results indicate that bacteria compromise the ability of a blue crab to become and remain active (supported by NSF Awards IOS-1147008 and DBI-1062990 to LEB and KGB).
