Meeting Abstract

P1.13  Thursday, Jan. 3  The Effects of Regeneration on Antennule Movement Patterns During Odor Tracking in the Crayfish Orconectes sanborni MEAD, K. S. *; RICHARDSON, M.; Denison University; Denison University meadk@denison.edu

Crayfish rely on chemosensory appendages (antennules) to track odors to find food, mates, and habitats. The movement of their antennules in odor sampling �flicks� helps move odor-containing water closer to chemosensors located on the antennules. Previous experiments showed that antennule removal decreases the ability of crayfish to track odors through a Y-maze until the antennule is almost fully regenerated. Although most surface structures regained their normal appearance by the second molt, Y-maze performance does not regain its original level until after the 3rd molt. This study focuses on antennule flicking parameters that may underlie this delayed ability to find food odors. Thirty-three Orconectes sanborni were filmed flicking in response to odor, and then had both antennules removed. Crayfish were then filmed with a high speed video, and flick duration, distance, frequency, and velocity, aesthetasc Re, leakiness (an indicator of boundary layer thickness), volume flow rate, and sample volume (measures of odor sample size) were determined after 4 subsequent molts. When antennules first started to regrow, flick duration increased and antennule tangential velocity decreased. These changes affect several critical parameters, including leakiness, volume flow rate, and sample volume.