Meeting Abstract

93.3  Friday, Jan. 7  Behavior of remipede crustaceans: in caves, in situ, and in fluorescence PAKES, M. Joey*; LINDBERG, David R.; CALDWELL, Roy L. ; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley pakes@berkeley.edu

In anchialine caves, where a marine layer flows beneath one or more less saline water layers, water exchange is severely restricted creating stable physico-chemical gradients often characterized by anoxia and high sulfide levels. The resulting unique environment has lead to the evolution of endemic faunas, which include the crustacean class Remipedia. Little is known about remipede life history, feeding, locomotion, or inter- and intraspecific interactions. For example, reproduction has not been described and no studies thus far have investigated these blind organisms’ interactions with their karst environment. Furthermore, many questions remain regarding the role of microbial communities in anchialine ecology, which have been postulated to provide nutritional support. Previous studies of remipede behavior have confined organisms to small aquaria without the characteristics of anchialine systems, such as water layers of varying salinity and oxygen content. We present the first in situ investigation of anchialine behavioral ecology, providing an ethogram and analysis of remipede behavior. Individuals from Cenote Crustacea, a densely populated cave in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, were filmed in November, 2009, January 2010, and July 2010. In July 2010, we implemented novel fluorescent filming techniques in order to better visualize white, autofluorescent individuals against light karst sediment. Our analysis includes microbial and intraspecific interactions as well as rare feeding observations. Through these in situ approaches to anchialine behavioral study, we hope to gain a better understanding of the intra- and inter-specific interactions in this ecosystem. Increased insight into these fragile anchialine cave ecosystems highly sensitive to pollution and water table drainage may inform conservation management decisions.