Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS23 In Transition: Biomechanics of Sensory Perception (Disciplinary Connections)

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 3:00:00 PM

Location: Acoma/Zuni/Tesuque

Moore, P, A, Laboratory for Sensory Ecology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, USA, pmoore@bgnet.bgsu.edu

HABITAT STRUCTURE, HYDRODYNAMICS, AND CHEMICAL ORIENTATION IN STREAM SYSTEMS

Many animals use chemical signals to acquire information about habitats. Each habitat has a unique hydrodynamic environment that is dependent upon the structure of that habitat. Differences in the hydrodynamics (i.e. turbulence) of an environment will be reflected in the fine-scale structure of chemical signals. The structure of this information is dependent upon specific features within a habitat, and the information in signals can be habitat specific. We quantified the spatial and temporal information in an aquatic odor plume in three different artificial stream habitats with different substrate types by measuring turbulent odor plumes with an electrochemical detection system and the orientation behavior of the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Our results imply that the information obtained from chemical signals may be limited in some habitats. These constraints on information may affect how organisms perform chemically mediated behaviors. A detailed analysis of orientation behavior supports the theory that crayfish orient differently to food sources in streams with different substrates. These results show that the hydrodynamics associated with chemical signal structure can greatly influence the temporal properties of orientation to food sources.

This Session Listing

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

Quicklinks