Corners and bubble wrap: the structure and texture of surfaces influence crayfish exploratory behaviour

Abstract

SUMMARY Touch is a principal sense in all animals. It is potentially important in species of freshwater crayfish that encounter murky waters or are nocturnal. Little is known about how tactile (touch) stimuli affect exploratory behaviour under these conditions. We placed animals in different tactile situations at the start of an exploration in a dark arena and tracked the position of the body and antennae to test whether subsequent search behaviour was affected. Individuals were exposed to differently textured walls, channelled out along a wall, or released in contact with no, one, or two walls. A corner arrangement of surfaces, where individuals started near two walls at right angles,produced behaviour that differed from that of other configurations; animals chose one wall and then maintained a close distance from the wall along which they were moving. The distance from a wall adopted by a crayfish walking parallel to it was affected by the texture of the wall. These results on the influence of tactile stimuli on crayfish exploratory behaviour may have implications for other taxa.

Exploring with damaged antennae: do crayfish compensate for injuries?

“…If the antennal ablation occurred prior to exploring the area, the animal's search strategy was affected, whereas if the crayfish had previously explored the environment with intact appendages, subsequent injury did not affect turn behaviour. This agrees with studies that indicate sensory input available at the time new environments are encountered influences behaviour (Basil and Sandeman, 2000;Patullo and Macmillan, 2006). This would therefore also affect learning processes.…”

“…Examples from several taxa describe several functions including following walls and surfaces as well as distinguishing between different textures [e.g. ants (Dussutour et al, 2005), cockroaches (Camhi and Johnson, 1999), crayfish (Patullo and Macmillan, 2006)]. Touch is probably important in other behaviours that require the body to be orientated in a particular way.…”

“…This information can then be combined or compared (McMahon et al, 2005), and allows the animal to form an image of the three-dimensional layout of their environment (Zeil et al, 1985). This is particularly relevant when animals explore new terrain (Basil and Sandeman, 2000;Patullo and Macmillan, 2006).…”

The cardiac response of the crabChasmagnathus granulatusas an index of sensory perception

“…Both antennae of crustacea bear sensory flagella which carry mechanoreceptive sensilla (Derby, 1982) enabling them to use tactile and mechanical cues to extract information from the environment (Patullo and Macmillan, 2005). These cues enable animals to find resources, orient to water currents or escape predators (Weissburg, 1997).…”

Making sense of electrical sense in crayfish

“…Cronin et al, 2001;Van der Velden et al, 2008), tactile (e.g. Basil and Sandeman, 2000;Patullo and Macmillan, 2006) and sound (e.g. Popper et al, 2001;Montgomery et al, 2006).…”