Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Comparative Study of Behavioral-Sensitivity Thresholds to Near-UV and Blue-Green Light in Deep-Sea Crustaceans
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Marine Biology
ISSN
0025-3162
Publication Date
12-1994
Abstract
The behavioral sensitivities of five species of deep-sea crustaceans (order Decapoda:Acanthephyra curtirostris, A. smithi, Notostomus gibbosus, Janicella spinacauda and Oplophorus gracilirostris) to near-UV and blue-green light were studied during a research cruise off the coast of Hawaii in 1993. Two of the five species have electrophysiologically-measured spectral sensitivity peaks at 400 and 500 nm, while the remaining three species have a single sensitivity peak at 490 to 500 nm. In the current study, behavioral mean threshold sensitivities (defined as the lowest irradiance change to which the shrimp would give a behavioral response) were determined for tethered specimens of each species at two wavelengths, 400 and 500 nm. The mean behavioral threshold sensitivities of the two species with putative dual visual-pigment systems were approximately the same to near-UV and blue-green light, while the other three species were significantly less sensitive to near-UV vs blue-green light. Results from these experiments indicate that (1) behavioral information obtained from tethered shrimp accurately reflects their spectral sensitivity, and (2) the sensitivity of the putative dichromats to near-UV light is sufficiently low to detect calculated levels of near-UV light remaining in the down-welling field at their daytime depth of 600 m. Possible functions of this high sensitivity to short wavelength light are discussed.
DOI
10.1007/BF00346730
Volume
121
Issue
2
First Page
229
Last Page
235
Additional Comments
NSF grant #s: OCE-9313872, OCE9115551
NSUWorks Citation
Tamara M. Frank and Edith A. Widder. 1994. Comparative Study of Behavioral-Sensitivity Thresholds to Near-UV and Blue-Green Light in Deep-Sea Crustaceans .Marine Biology , (2) : 229 -235. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facarticles/471.
Comments
©Springer-Verlag 1994