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At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Odor plumes and how blue crabs use them in finding prey.

Orientation of animals using chemical cues often takes place in flows, where the stimulus properties of odorants are affected by the characteristics of fluid motion. Kinematic analysis of movement patterns by animals responding to odor plumes has been used to provide insight into the behavioral and physiological aspects of olfactory-mediated orientation, particularly in terrestrial insects. We have used this approach in analyzing predatory searching by blue crabs in response to plumes of attractant metabolites released from the siphons of live clams in controlled hydrodynamic environments. Crabs proceed directly upstream towards clams in smooth-turbulent flows and show high locomotory velocities and few periods of motionlessness. Crabs assume more indirect trajectories and display slower locomotion and more stopping in rough-turbulent flows. This degradation of foraging performance is most pronounced as flow shifts from a smooth- to a rough-turbulent regime, where the change in hydraulic properties is associated with contraction of the viscous sublayer region of the boundary layer. Because flow in this region is quasilaminar, the viscous sublayer may be a particularly effective vehicle for chemical stimulus transmission, such that orientation is severely compromised when it is reduced or removed. Our results also suggest that rheotactic and chemical information are both necessary for successful orientation. Perception of chemical cues acts to bias locomotion upcurrent, and feedback from odorant stimulus distributions appears directly to regulate subsequent stopping and turning en route to prey. Although the mechanisms of orientation to odorant plumes displayed by insects and blue crabs are largely similar, blue crabs appear to rely more heavily on spatial and/or temporal aspects of chemical stimulus distributions than has been suggested for insect systems.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Retinal location is the key to identifying predators in fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator).

Fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator Bosc; Crustacea, Decapoda) feed and court in open, flat spaces. Their visual system has several putative adaptations to their flat habitat, including the tendency to keep the vertical axis of their eyes perpendicular to the plane of the substratum. It is hypothesized that one of the functions of this behavior is to distinguish accurately predators from conspecifics by aligning the region of the eye sensitive to predators with the region in space in which predators occur. To test this hypothesis, a crab was placed in a glass dish, and a moving stimulus was presented between 20 degrees above and below eye level (horizontal). Stimuli below the crab's horizon hardly ever evoked escape responses, while identical stimuli above the horizon produced escape responses whose frequency varied with the angular size, not the absolute size, of the stimulus. Experiments with artificial horizons showed that it is the position of the stimulus relative to the eye that is important, rather than its position relative to external cues such as the visible horizon, the vertical light gradient or the gravitational horizon. It is concluded that a crab responds to stimuli according to their position relative to its retinal equator. This conclusion is discussed in light of the crabs' natural behavior with respect to supra-horizontal stimuli.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Underwater punting by an intertidal crab: a novel gait revealed by the kinematics of pedestrian locomotion in air versus water

As an animal moves from air to water, its effective weight is substantially reduced by buoyancy while the fluid-dynamic forces (e. g. lift and drag) are increased 800-fold. The changes in the magnitude of these forces are likely to have substantial consequences for locomotion as well as for resistance to being overturned. We began our investigation of aquatic pedestrian locomotion by quantifying the kinematics of crabs at slow speeds where buoyant forces are more important relative to fluid-dynamic forces. At these slow speeds, we used reduced-gravity models of terrestrial locomotion to predict trends in the kinematics of aquatic pedestrian locomotion. Using these models, we expected animals in water to use running gaits even at slow speeds. We hypothesized that aquatic pedestrians would (1) use lower duty factors and longer periods with no ground contact, (2) demonstrate more variable kinematics and (3) adopt wider stances for increased horizontal stability against fluid-dynamic forces than animals moving at the same speed on land. We tested these predictions by measuring the three-dimensional kinematics of intertidal rock crabs (Grapsus tenuicrustatus) locomoting through water and air at the same velocity (9 cm s-1) over a flat substratum. As predicted from reduced-gravity models of running, crabs moving under water showed decreased leg contact times and duty factors relative to locomotion on land. In water, the legs cycled intermittently, fewer legs were in contact with the substratum and leg kinematics were much more variable than on land. The width of the crab's stance was 19 % greater in water than in air, thereby increasing stability against overturning by hydrodynamic forces. Rather than an alternating tetrapod or metachronal wave gait, crabs in water used a novel gait we termed 'underwater punting', characterized by alternating phases of generating thrust against the substratum and gliding through the water.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Signals from 'crabworld': cuticular reflections in a fiddler crab colony.

Fiddler crabs inhabit intertidal sand- and mudflats, where they live in dense colonies and are active on the surface during low tide. They exhibit a rich behavioural repertoire, with frequent interactions between animals in the context of territorial and mating activities. Male fiddler crabs have one massively enlarged and conspicuously coloured claw, which they use in waving displays and in fights with other males. The crabs carry their eyes on long, vertically oriented stalks high above the body and, as a consequence, see the bodies of conspecifics in the ventral visual field, below the local visual horizon, and against the mudflat surface as background. We filmed events in a colony of Uca vomeris with a normal video camera and an ultraviolet-sensitive camera placed at the eye height of an average crab, approximately 2-3 cm above ground. We also used a spectrographic imager and linear polarized filters to analyse the cues potentially available to the animals for detecting, monitoring and possibly identifying each other. Areas of high contrast in mudflat scenes include specular reflections on the wet cuticle of crabs that are horizontally polarised. Besides specular reflections, some parts of the cuticle generate high-contrast signals against the mudflat background, both at wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm, and in the ultraviolet region between 300 and 400 nm. Uca vomeris can be very colourful: the different parts of the large claw of the male are white, orange or red. The carapace colours of both males and females can range from a mottled yellowish green brown, to a brilliant light blue. White and blue colours contrast starkly with the mudflat background, especially in the ultraviolet wavelengths. Under stress, the blue and white colours can change within minutes to a duller and darker blue or to a dull white.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2002

Behavioral observations and computer simulations of blue crab movement to a chemical source in a controlled turbulent flow.

The behavior of crabs tracking odor in turbulent chemical plumes was compared to the performance of computer simulations of search behavior operating in similar chemical signal environments. The movement of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) towards a source of food odor was studied in controlled flow conditions in a flume. The evolving chemical stimulus field of a similar chemical source in an equivalent flow environment was captured by recording concentration patterns of a fluorescent tracer. Hypotheses about the sensory mechanisms employed by the crabs were tested by computer simulation using the recorded fluorescence as the stimulus. The results demonstrate that a simple model combining chemotropotaxis (simultaneous, spatial comparisons of chemical signals) and odor-stimulated upstream movement (rheotaxis) is sufficient to explain the efficient movements towards the source displayed by foraging crabs. Spatial integration around each sensor improves performance significantly, but the number of sensors does not have a large impact on performance. The weighting of information from chemical versus flow signals can substantially change simulation performance, resulting in more or less congruence between the behavior of simulations and that of crabs, which suggests the general importance of both sources of information for successful odor-guided navigation.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

On the mode of action of methionine enkephalin, FK 33-824 and naloxone in regulating the hemolymph glucose level in the fresh water field crab Oziotelphusa senex senex.

The possible involvement of opioid system in the regulation of hemolymph glucose level in the fresh water crab Oziotelphusa senex senex Fabricius, was investigated. Opioid agonist and antagonist was also used in addition to methionine-enkephalin itself. Injection of the opioid, methionine-enkephalin and FK 33-824 significantly elevated hemolymph glucose level. In contrast, injection of naloxone in to crab resulted in decrease in hemolymph glucose level. Injection of naloxone prior to injection of methionine-enkephalin blocked the hyperglycemic action of methionine-enkephalin. Injection of methionine-enkephalin, FK 33824 and naloxone produced no significant effect on hemolymph glucose level in eyestalk-less crab. The alterations in the intact crab hemolymph glucose level hypothesised to be due to stimulation of release of hyperglycemic hormone during methionine-enkephalin and FK 33824 treatment and blocking of release of hyperglycemic hormone during naloxone treatment from the eyestalks of crab Oziotelphusa senex senex.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Enhancement of the response of rock crabs, Cancer irroratus, to prey odors following feeding experience

The rock crab, Cancer irroratus Say, uses chemically mediated learning in the search for food. Rock crabs are opportunistic benthic predators and scavengers. Observations indicate that although they eat a variety of items, they are more sensitive to, and prefer, odors of food items that they have been eating. We found that C. irroratus is more responsive to a familiar food source than to an unfamiliar one and can distinguish between the odors of two different prey after being fed one species for an extended time. Initial preferences for two mytilid bivalves, Mytilus edulis and Geukensia demissa, were determined in a Y-maze. Crabs were then fed only one of the mussel species for 28 days and retested, using sequential and simultaneous presentations, for their responses to familiar and unfamiliar prey odors. Crabs increased their responses to familiar prey odors, but not to unfamiliar odors. In foraging tests, crabs ate M. edulis more often regardless of the species to which they had been familiarized.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Effects of hypercapnic hypoxia on the clearance of Vibrio campbellii in the Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun.

Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, encounters hypoxia, hypercapnia (elevated CO(2)), and bacterial pathogens in its natural environment. We tested the hypothesis that acute exposure to hypercapnic hypoxia (HH) alters the crab's ability to clear a pathogenic bacterium, Vibrio campbellii 90-69B3, from the hemolymph. Adult male crabs were held in normoxia (well-aerated seawater) or HH (seawater with PO(2) = 4 kPa; PCO(2) = 1.8 kPa; and pH = 6.7-7.1) and were injected with 2.5 x 10(4) Vibrio g(-1) body weight. The animals were held in normoxia or in HH for 45, 75, or 210-240 min before being injected with Vibrio, and were maintained in their respective treatment conditions for the 120-min duration of the experiment. Vibrio colony-forming units (CFU) ml(-1) hemolymph were quantified before injection, and at 10, 20, and 40 min afterward. Total hemocytes (THC) ml(-1) of hemolymph were counted 24 h before (-24 h), and at 10 and 120 min after injection. Sham injections of saline produced no change in the bacterial or hemocyte counts in any treatment group. Among the groups that received bacterial injections, Vibrio was almost completely cleared within 1 h, but at 10-min postinjection, Vibrio CFU ml(-1) hemolymph was significantly higher in animals held in HH for 75 and 210-240 min than in those held in normoxia. Within 10 min after crabs were injected with bacteria, THC ml(-1) significantly decreased in control and HH45 treatments, but not in the HH75 and HH210-240 treatments. By 120 min after injection of bacteria, hemocyte counts decreased in all but the HH45 group. These data demonstrate that HH significantly impairs the ability of blue crabs to clear Vibrio from the hemolymph. These results also suggest that HH alters the normal role of circulating hemocytes in the removal of an invading pathogen.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

A histological study of shell disease syndrome in the edible crab Cancer pagurus.

Shell disease syndrome is characterised by the external manifestation of black spot lesions in the exoskeletons of crustaceans. In the present study, gills, hepatopancreas and hearts from healthy (<0.05% black spot coverage) and diseased (5 to 15% coverage) edible crabs, Cancer pagurus, were examined histologically to determine whether this disease can cause internal damage to such crabs. There was clear evidence of cuticular damage in the gills of diseased crabs leading to the formation of haemocyte plugs termed nodules. Nephrocytes found within the branchial septa of the gills showed an increase in the accumulation of dark material in their vacuoles in response to disease. In the hepatopancreas, various stages of tubular degradation were apparent that correlated with the severity of external disease. Similarly, there was a positive correlation between the number of viable bacteria in the haemolymph and the degree of shell disease severity. Approximately 21% of the haemolymph-isolated bacteria displayed chitinolytic activity. Overall, these findings suggest that shell disease syndrome should not be considered as a disease of the cuticle alone. Furthermore, it shows that in wild populations of crabs shell perforations may lead to limited septicaemia potentially resulting in damage of internal tissues. Whether such natural infections lead to significant fatalities in crabs is still uncertain.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Ground deposition impact of aerially applied fenthion on the fiddler crabs, Uca pugilator.

Caged fiddler crabs, Uca pugilator, were exposed to field ULV applications to measure the impact of fenthion. Two nozzle systems, conventional flat-fan nozzles (Tee Jet 8002SS) and high-pressure hydraulic nozzles (1/8 MIS), were compared using single spray swaths. Fenthion residues were detected throughout the 4.83-km test zone for both systems. Heavy ground deposits (650-1,670 microg/m2) of fenthion were found within 1 km using the flat-fan nozzle systems, which resulted in 80% fiddler crab mortality. Less than 100 microg/m2 fenthion ground deposits were detected during the high-pressure nozzle trials. No fiddler crab mortality was observed within the first 1-km zone following 3 single swath applications repeated during 3 consecutive nights. We found also that when the fiddler crabs were exposed to 700-800 microg/m2 fenthion, mortality occurred. Significant crab mortality (>50%) was observed when residues exceeded 1,000 microg/m2.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1979

[Kinetic parameters of Na,K-ATPase in the gills of crabs adapted to freshened sea water].

The dependence of Na,K-ATPase activity on concentrations of ATP, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and ouabain in the membrane preparations of crab gills was studied. The first group of crabs was adapted to freshened (25%) and the second one--to normal (100%) sea water. A 40-day adaptation of crabs to the freshened sea water results in an increase of maximal activity of Na,K-ATPase, but does not affect the enzyme affinity for ATP, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and ouabain, as well as its cooperative properties. It is assumed that adaptation of crabs to freshened sea water is accompanied by an accumulation of Na, K-ATPase in the epithelial cell membranes or crab gills without causing any qualitative changes of the enzyme.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1987

[Use of collagenase from the hepatopancreas of the Kamchatka crab for isolating and culturing endothelial cells of the large vessels in man].

The application of hepatopancreas collagenase from crab Paralithodes camtschatica for the isolation and cultivation of the endothelial cells was studied in human umbilical vein endothelium. The comparison of the enzyme from crab hepatopancreas with collagenase from Clostridium histoliticum has shown that the number of viable cells isolated from human umbilical vein by the crab enzyme was lower than in the case of microbial collagenase. However, this difference was not significant for subsequent cultivation of cells. Harvesting of the endothelial cells from the substrate during cultivation was more effective in the case when collagenase from crab hepatopancreas was used. It was shown that crab collagenase, in contrast with microbiological collagenase, was not a metal-dependent enzyme.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

[On the distribution of the lung flukes, Paragonimus africanus and P. uterobilateralis, in the South West Province of Cameroon and in Eastern Nigeria as determined by examination of the intermediate crab hosts for infection with metacercariae (author's transl)].

During 1973-75 the distribution of the lung flukes, Paragonimus africanus and P. uterobilateralis, was studied in South West-Cameroon and in Eastern Nigeria, on the basis of parasitological examinations of the intermediate crab hosts Sudanonautes africanus, S. pelii, and S. aubryi, belonging to the family Potamonidae. 1000 freashwater crabs from 80 localities were examined for prevalence and intensity of infection with Paragonimus methacercariae. In Cameroon S. pelii was found to be a new intermediate host for P. uterobilateralis, and S. aubryi a new host for P. africanus. The morphology, behavior, and habitats of the crabs are summarized. In Eastern Nigeria only metacercariae of P. uterobilateralis were found. The main endemic area was located in the basin of the upper Imo River. Outside this area infected crabs were found only in and around Arochukwu, in the lower tributaries of the Cross River. This distribution differs from that given by Nwokolo (1974), which was based on the origin of clinical cases. These differences are discussed. In South West-Cameroon both Paragonimus species were found. The highest prevalence and intensity of metacercariae of P. africanus was seen in certain tributaries of the Mungo River in the area of Lower Bakossi. Proceeding northwards towards Mamfe, infections with P. africanus decreased steadily, whereas infections with P. uterobilateralis increased. On the upper reaches of the Cross River from the region around Mamfe and extending as far as the Nigerian fronter at Ekok, the crabs were infected exclusively with P. uterobilateralis. The unexplored mildle reaches of the Cross River may form a bridge between the endemic areas of this lung fluke in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Crab collagenase in wound debridement.

A comparative study was performed of the caseinolytic, necrolytic and fibrinolytic activities of a crab collagenase product prepared from the hepatopancreas of the king crab (Paralithodes camtschatica) and four enzyme preparations (trypsin/chymotrypsin and protease complexes isolated from Aspergillus terricola, Carica papaya and pseudomonodaceae). This paper reports an in vitro investigation, an in vivo study with rats and a clinical evaluation. It was found that crab collagenase has the highest proteolytic activity measured with respect to fibrin clot and necrotic eschar in vitro although its caseinolytic activity is the lowest. A clinical trial involving 21 patients with leg ulcers confirmed the clinical efficiency of crab collagenase compared with trypsin/ chymotrypsin. The results suggest that crab collagenase is useful in wound debridement.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

[Biochemical characterization of proteins in the crab Homalaspis plana].

Homalaspis plana is a crab found in the Pacific Ocean coasts from Guayaquil (Ecuador) all the way down to the Strait of Magellan, including all of the Chilean coast. This crustacean is an important resource because it provides jobs for artisanal fishermen. In Chile there is no product diversification from this crab and it has been poorly studied from the scientific point of view. The biochemical characterization of its proteins was initiated to be able to develop several products from its meat. We report the proteolytic activity from freshly extracted crab meat and the electrophoretical characterization of its proteins. No proteolytic activity was detected in freshly extracted crab meat, under any of the assay conditions used. SDS Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and native PAGE were carried out with proteins extracted from crab meat. Using extraction solutions at two different ionic strengths (0.05 and 0.5), myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic were separated, each showing different electrophoretical patterns in SDS-PAGE.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Proximal chemical composition and functional properties of fresh meat of crab claws (Homalaspis plana)].

The research of alternative technological processes is being necessary in order to obtain a better utilization of hydrobiologic resources and food products, with higher added value. Crab (Homolaspis plana) is a crustacean found along the Chilean coast, whose flesh is exported as a frozen product. The resource crab is scantly studied in Chile and could became an excellent raw material for "delicatessen" products, with a high market value. The proximal composition, through the protein, fat, moisture and ashes content was determined. The non nitrogen extract was calculated by difference. The functional properties (water retention, emulsifying and gel-forming capacities) of fresh crab claws meat without additives were measured. The proximal composition for the claw meat was: 79,34 +/- 1.12% moisture, 16.75 +/- 1.29% protein, 1.86 +/- 0.11% ashes, 0.11 +/- 0.01 fat % and 1.93 +/- 1.07% N.N.E. In relation with the emulsifying capacity, claw meat was able to emulsify 2,259.03 +/- 73.04 g vegetal oil/g protein. The water retention was 154.49 +/- 6.85% representing the increase in mass percent; and the force of the gel formed in claw meat was 195.3 +/- 17.16 g-force x cm. According to these results, the claw crab is an attractive food, with a high protein and low fat content. Crab meat showed an excellent emulsifying capacity and water retention, so it can be used as a good raw material for the development of smearing products. In the case of gel-like products, further studies will be required, in order to optimize the conditions in which a stronger gel could be obtained.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Determination of 4-hexylresorcinol in crab meat.

A method is described for determining 4-hexylresorcinol in crab meat. 4-Hexylresorcinol is used to prevent melanosis in shrimp, and the same use has been proposed for crab meat. Because 4-hexylresorcinol may be added illegally to crab meat as a preservative, consumer protection requires that residues of the compound be monitored in crab meat. 4-Hexylresorcinol is extracted from crab meat with acetonitrile. After dilution with water, the extract is passed through a C18 solid-phase extraction column and 4-hexylresorcinol is eluted from the column with ethanol. The compound is determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with diode array detection at 206 nm. Limit of quantitation is 1.0 microgram/g. Mean recovery in the range 1-20 micrograms/g is 89%, with a relative standard deviation of 6.3.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Metals in horseshoe crabs from Delaware Bay.

We examined the concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in the eggs, leg muscle, and apodeme (carapace musculature) in horseshoe crabs ( Limulus polyphemus) from eight places on the New Jersey and Delaware sides of Delaware Bay to determine whether there were locational differences. Although there were locational differences, the differences were not great. Further, contaminant levels were generally low. The levels of contaminants found in horseshoe crabs were well below those known to cause adverse effects in the crabs themselves or in organisms that consume them or their eggs. Contaminant levels have generally declined in the eggs of horseshoe crabs from 1993 to 2001, suggesting that contaminants are not likely to be a problem for secondary consumers or a cause of their decline.

Animals↗