Meeting Abstract
Squid have visual and mechanoreception systems that may be employed to sense and respond to an approaching predator. While vision plays a dominant role, the importance of the lateral line analogue for predator evasion has not been examined in squid. To test the respective roles of vision and the lateral line analogue, brief squid Lolliguncula brevis were observed in the presence of summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus under light and dark conditions with their lateral line analogue intact and ablated. Lateral line ablation was achieved through a pharmacological technique used for the first time on a cephalopod. Proportion of predator-prey interactions survived was significantly higher in the light non-ablated and light ablated groups compared to the dark ablated group. The mean number of interactions survived varied across treatment groups with the light non-ablated group having significantly more success than the light ablated, dark non-ablated and dark ablated groups. The results of this study demonstrate that the lateral line analogue contributes to predator evasion in squid.
