Meeting Abstract
Mantis shrimp can detect ultraviolet (UV) light, and Neogonodactylus oerstedii displays many varying colors and shades. This study was to test if the reflectance of the mantis shrimp species, N. oerstedii, changes with the coloring of its environment. To better understand this phenomenon, we placed different individuals in tanks with varying colors of sand on which to live (blue, black, grey, white, a mix of different browns, and a red brown), and weekly reflectance readings were taken on various parts of the body (carapace, thorax, and abdomen) using an Ocean Optics USB-2000 fiber optic spectrometer. Reflectance of the sand was measured using the same instrument at the beginning of the experiment. We repeated this same experimental protocol with animals on white sand but in containers covered by spectrally characterized spectral color filters. Data were analyzed using standard methods. We expected reflectance to change over time to become more like the color they were on or were subjected to via the filters, but after two months of measurements we saw no significant color changes. However, none of the animals had molted since the start of the experiment, so color changes may yet be observed. Current results show that males tend to boost the intensity of their UV reflectance (including shorter wavelength UV) more than females. Animals in neutral/monochromatic colors tended to change less than those in colored ones. Of various body parts, the carapaces tended to stay the most consistent. It will be interesting to see if these trends continue over time.
