Effects of the trematode Microphallus turgidus on locomotion and prey capture in the grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.N. Khan ◽  
J.A. Spiers ◽  
O.J. Pung
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Host ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Grass Shrimp ◽  
Palaemonetes Pugio ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Data Support ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Host Behaviour ◽  
Capture Rates

AbstractThe grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, is common in estuaries and marshes along the east coast of the USA and is frequently infected with metacercariae of the trematode, Microphallus turgidus. To test whether or not M. turgidus has an effect on intermediate host behaviour, the length of time spent swimming and walking over 1 min and 3 min intervals and prey (Artemia) capture rates of uninfected grass shrimp and those infected with 1–10, 11–20 or 21–30 metacercarial cysts were compared. Uninfected shrimps spent significantly more time swimming than infected shrimps during the first minute of observation. There were no differences between the control and infected groups in terms of swimming at 3 min, walking at 1 and 3 min, or in numbers of prey captured. These results indicate that M. turgidus may induce little or no change in grass shrimp locomotion nor in prey capture behaviour. This is in contrast to other parasites that modify intermediate host behaviour to enhance their transmission to definitive hosts. Furthermore, these data support earlier studies indicating that M. turgidus does not affect the growth and survival of P. pugio.

Prey capture ability of mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) as a behavioral biomarker for contaminants in estuarine systems

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (7) ◽  
pp. 1442-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith S Weis ◽  
Jennifer Samson ◽  
Tong Zhou ◽  
Joan Skurnick ◽  
Peddrick Weis
Keyword(s):  
Fundulus Heteroclitus ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Grass Shrimp ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Gut Content Analysis ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Gut Content ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
A Site ◽  
Capture Rates

Prey capture was evaluated as a behavioral biomarker of contamination by examining feeding behavior of adult mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) from 13 sites. Prey capture ability was related to sediment and tissue contaminant levels and with previous genetic analyses. The levels of contaminants at a site were highly correlated with each other, confounding the impacts of individual contaminants. The number of prey (grass shrimp) captured was highest in three of the cleanest sites. Sites with the lowest capture rates were generally more contaminated. The number of captures at all sites was highly variable, with both high and low efficiencies in highly contaminated populations. A significant relationship exists between the Mdh-A(a) allele and captures, with higher captures in the southern populations. Gut content analysis of field-collected fish had grass shrimp as the largest proportion of the diet at sites whose fish had the highest laboratory capture rates. Thus, prey capture as a behavioral biomarker is ecologically relevant and corresponds to diet in the field. However, it is not especially sensitive due to great variability at each site. Behavioral differences related to overall contaminant levels rather than to specific toxicants.

Map Of The USA East Coast

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Broome
Keyword(s):  
East Coast ◽  
The Usa

scholarly journals Topological and Morphological Controls on Morphodynamics of Salt Marsh Interiors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Ben R. Evans ◽  
Iris Möller ◽  
Tom Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Marsh Surface ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Morphological Segmentation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

Salt marshes are important coastal environments and provide multiple benefits to society. They are considered to be declining in extent globally, including on the UK east coast. The dynamics and characteristics of interior parts of salt marsh systems are spatially variable and can fundamentally affect biotic distributions and the way in which the landscape delivers ecosystem services. It is therefore important to understand, and be able to predict, how these landscape configurations may evolve over time and where the greatest dynamism will occur. This study estimates morphodynamic changes in salt marsh areas for a regional domain over a multi-decadal timescale. We demonstrate at a landscape scale that relationships exist between the topology and morphology of a salt marsh and changes in its condition over time. We present an inherently scalable satellite-derived measure of change in marsh platform integrity that allows the monitoring of changes in marsh condition. We then demonstrate that easily derived geospatial and morphometric parameters can be used to determine the probability of marsh degradation. We draw comparisons with previous work conducted on the east coast of the USA, finding differences in marsh responses according to their position within the wider coastal system between the two regions, but relatively consistent in relation to the within-marsh situation. We describe the sub-pixel-scale marsh morphometry using a morphological segmentation algorithm applied to 25 cm-resolution maps of vegetated marsh surface. We also find strong relationships between morphometric indices and change in marsh platform integrity which allow for the inference of past dynamism but also suggest that current morphology may be predictive of future change. We thus provide insight into the factors governing marsh degradation that will assist the anticipation of adverse changes to the attributes and functions of these critical coastal environments and inform ongoing ecogeomorphic modelling developments.

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