Meeting Abstract

P2.15  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Chemosensory Recognition in Pullosquilla litoralis BAXTER, C/A*; HAMMOND, T/T; WRIGHT, M/L; CALDWELL, R/L; University of California Berkeley wrightml@berkeley.edu

Though mantis shrimps are often recognized for their extraordinary eyes and uniquely powerful raptorial appendages, they are also known to use chemosensory perception to mediate social interactions. Previous studies have shown that mantis shrimps have individual olfactory recognition of conspecifics. Most prior work on chemosensory individual recognition in mantis shrimps has focused on species that use recognition to mediate agonistic encounters (Gonodactyloidea). However, socially monogamous spearers in the Lysiosquilloidea superfamily also provide an interesting model for studies of individual and conspecific recognition. Closely related, socially monogamous mantis shrimp species that inhabit the same environments may be dependent on olfactory conspecific recognition during pair formation. Additionally, olfactory signals may be more important than visual cues for mate recognition in the dark burrows where pairs mate and care for clutches. We examined chemosensory perception in female Pullosquilla litoralis, a socially monogamous mantis shrimp that co-occurs with its socially monogamous sister species Pullosquilla thomassini in sandy lagoon habitats throughout the IndoPacific. To test olfactory preference in female P. litoralis, individual females were allowed to chose between contrasting scents from known versus unknown males and con- versus heterospecific males (P. thomassini). For each trial, females were isolated from their mates in a plexiglass aquarium. A peristaltic pump pushed either pure seawater or water with scented cues into opposing ends of the tank for 10 minutes. Preference was measured as cumulative time spent on each side. Females showed no preference for olfactory cues from either their mates or conspecific individuals, suggesting either that female P. litoralis have no preference for mates and conspecifics or that they do not have the olfactory ability to form a preference.