Meeting Abstract

P2.119  Friday, Jan. 4  Grooming and Mantis Shrimp WORTHAM, J. L.; University of Tampa jwortham@ut.edu

Grooming behaviors are common actions performed by many crustaceans even though the number of grooming appendages, time spent grooming, and body regions groomed vary. Grooming is considered to be a secondary action that occurs when pressures from other environmental stimuli are absent. It has been predicted that crustaceans which are active, epibentic, and are exposed to more diverse environmental stimuli would have more grooming behaviors; thus active, epibenthic crustaceans should have high grooming pressures. Also, burrowing animals have behaviors that impact the frequency of grooming, and that certain burrowing behaviors may act as anti-fouling mechanisms; thus individuals that burrow may have low grooming pressures. It is unclear what the actual grooming pressures may be on crustaceans that are active, epibenthic, and burrow. Mantis shrimps (stomatopods) are active and epibenthic marine crustaceans that live in burrows and groom their bodies. Thus, the fouling pressures on mantis shrimps may be variable over time. In this review, the importance of grooming to mantis shrimps is discussed in terms of function and environmental pressures along with comparing grooming behaviors within mantis shrimps and to other crustaceans.