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| Branchiopod crustacean behavioral responses to visible and UV light: are there neural implications? |
| Brian Stevens, Paige Huffman, Maria Gaughan, Nicolas Lessios. Assumption University, Worcester, MA, United States |
Branchiopods are a class of crustaceans that are often found in temporary pond habitats. They are thought to predominantly use light cues for orientation and positioning themselves in the water column. Here, we present findings from two species of branchiopods, Triops longicaudatus and Streptocephalus mackini, which come from two distantly related orders of branchiopods: tadpole shrimp (Notostraca), and fairy shrimp (Anostraca). We carried out behavioral tests which examined the responses to wavelength and intensity from crustaceans reared in a greenhouse with natural sunlight including ultraviolet light. We tested crustaceans in testing chambers made of UV-transmissive plastic (PetG). Light stimuli came from a 300 Watt Xenon arc lamp, interference, and neutral density filters. From our results, we suggest they are using multiple spectral photoreceptor classes for phototactic behavior, and indicate they could be using dedicated neural circuits for wavelength specific behavior to UV light. Our results suggest they are using luminance vision rather than color vision for these behaviors, and that there are separate neural circuits for UV responses to those of visible wavelengths. |