scholarly journals The Covering Reaction of Sea-Urchins

1956 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-523
Author(s):  
NORMAN MILLOTT

1. Lytechinus variegatus (Lamarck) covers the parts of its skin that are exposed to light with fragments taken from its surroundings. 2. The covering is taken up by the tube feet, assisted by the spines, and held in place by the tube feet acting in relays. It may be orientated with respect to the light source. There are indications of adaptability of behaviour where the covering pieces offer resistance to being lifted. 3. Covering is related to light and to diurnal light changes, being assumed in strong light and rejected, after a varying interval of time, in darkness. Both continuous bright light and decreases in light intensity evoke covering. The tube feet react to the same stimuli and the speed of their extension is roughly proportional to the change of intensity. 4. The tendency to cover is increased after a sojourn in darkness and is greater in pale individuals than in dark ones. 5. Urchins can be photosensitized by injection of dyes so that they cover in dim light. 6. The prehension and holding of covering does not involve the oral and aboral nerve rings. 7. The relation of covering to light and environment favours the idea that it acts as a screen against strong light.

1983 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Claire Rind

1. In the moth, Manduca sexta, a pair of neurones, one on each side of the brain, were characterized morphologically and physiologically as descending interneurones, selective for horizontal motion over a large area of the moth's visual field. 2. Their cell bodies and dendritic processes are located in the protocerebrum of the brain. Their axons, 12–15 [μm diameter, project down the ipsilateral connective, branching profusely on the ipsilateral side of the suboesophageal, prothoracic and pterothoracic ganglia. 3. Each neurone responds to movement over either retina. Their preferred directions are from front to back across the ipsilateral eye and back to front over the contralateral one. Movement in the opposite direction supresses their usual ‘resting’ discharge. The neurones are particularly sensitive to movements within the frontal, ventral visual field. 4. Each neurone responds repeatedly, for up to 5 h, to a stimulus oscillating back and forth across the retinae. The response is not diminished during concurrent wing flapping. 5. An increase in the velocity of stimulus movement produces a proportional increase in firing frequency. For stripes of 2.5 cm wavelength and subtending 32° at the eye, the maximum response occurs at a velocity of 3cm/s which gives a contrast frequency of 1.2 Hz. 6. The latency of the neurone's response, measured from its axon as it enters the pterothoracic ganglion, depends on at least two factors: light intensity and the speed of stimulus movement. 7. The neurone gives a directional response to stripes of period 6–4° in bright light. The response falls to 16° in dim light. 8. At night, in dim light, the latency of response is much reduced and the threshold light intensity, necessary for a directional response, decreases by two orders of magnitude.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 170140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe E. Emerson ◽  
Helena C. Reinardy ◽  
Nicholas R. Bates ◽  
Andrea G. Bodnar

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has resulted in a change in seawater chemistry and lowering of pH, referred to as ocean acidification. Understanding how different organisms and processes respond to ocean acidification is vital to predict how marine ecosystems will be altered under future scenarios of continued environmental change. Regenerative processes involving biomineralization in marine calcifiers such as sea urchins are predicted to be especially vulnerable. In this study, the effect of ocean acidification on regeneration of external appendages (spines and tube feet) was investigated in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus exposed to ambient (546 µatm), intermediate (1027 µatm) and high (1841 µatm) partial pressure of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) for eight weeks. The rate of regeneration was maintained in spines and tube feet throughout two periods of amputation and regrowth under conditions of elevated p CO 2 . Increased expression of several biomineralization-related genes indicated molecular compensatory mechanisms; however, the structural integrity of both regenerating and homeostatic spines was compromised in high p CO 2 conditions. Indicators of physiological fitness (righting response, growth rate, coelomocyte concentration and composition) were not affected by increasing p CO 2 , but compromised spine integrity is likely to have negative consequences for defence capabilities and therefore survival of these ecologically and economically important organisms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 182-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenta Matsumura ◽  
Koichi Shimizu ◽  
Peter Rolfe ◽  
Masanori Kakimoto ◽  
Takehiro Yamakoshi

Abstract. Pulse volume (PV) and its related measures, such as modified normalized pulse volume (mNPV), direct-current component (DC), and pulse rate (PR), derived from the finger-photoplethysmogram (FPPG), are useful psychophysiological measures. Although considerable uncertainties exist in finger-photoplethysmography, little is known about the extent of the adverse effects on the measures. In this study, we therefore examined the inter-method reliability of each index across sensor positions and light intensities, which are major disturbance factors of FPPG. From the tips of the index fingers of 12 participants in a resting state, three simultaneous FPPGs having overlapping optical paths were recorded, with their light intensity being changed in three steps. The analysis revealed that the minimum values of three coefficients of Cronbach’s α for ln PV, ln mNPV, ln DC, and PR across positions were .948, .850, .922, and 1.000, respectively, and that those across intensities were .774, .985, .485, and .998, respectively. These findings suggest that ln mNPV and PR can be used for psychophysiological studies irrespective of minor differences in sensor attachment positions and light source intensity, whereas and ln DC can also be used for such studies but under the condition of light intensity being fixed.


1964 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. N. Barua

Photosynthetic rates of detached, mature tea leaves from four different sources were determined in excess CO2 and light of 4, 10, 16 and 32 klux intensities from a tungsten-filament lamp. Temperature was maintained at 25°C. The assimilation rates were significantly different for the four sources both in weak and in strong light. Neither thickness of the leaf lamina nor chlorophyll concentration could explain the cause of this difference.The effect of shade adaptation on the subsequent rate of assimilation was examined in one of the four sources of leaf. Shade-adapted leaves had significantly higher rates of photosynthesis at the weakest light intensity of 4 klux and lower rates in 16 and 32 klux intensities than the corresponding sun leaves.


Author(s):  
Lauren E. Monroe ◽  
Samantha L. Smith

Vigilance, or sustained attention tasks involve detecting critical signals, embedded amid more frequent neutral signals, over an extended period of time. A decline in performance, engagement, and arousal over time, as well as high workload and stress, are common outcomes of such tasks. Exposure to broad-spectrum or short wavelength bright light has been found to positively impact alertness, speed of information processing, and mood, but has not been extensively explored in the vigilance domain. The present study explored whether a light therapy lamp could mitigate the negative vigilance outcomes found in both performance and affective state. Results indicated that the therapy light did not prevent a decline in detection of critical signals over time, nor significantly impact workload, sleepiness, or subjective stress state compared to a dim light condition. However, mood questionnaire results suggest that lighting may impact separate constructs of arousal and tiredness, warranting further research.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Schuergers ◽  
Tchern Lenn ◽  
Ronald Kampmann ◽  
Markus V Meissner ◽  
Tiago Esteves ◽  
...  

Bacterial phototaxis was first recognized over a century ago, but the method by which such small cells can sense the direction of illumination has remained puzzling. The unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 moves with Type IV pili and measures light intensity and color with a range of photoreceptors. Here, we show that individual Synechocystis cells do not respond to a spatiotemporal gradient in light intensity, but rather they directly and accurately sense the position of a light source. We show that directional light sensing is possible because Synechocystis cells act as spherical microlenses, allowing the cell to see a light source and move towards it. A high-resolution image of the light source is focused on the edge of the cell opposite to the source, triggering movement away from the focused spot. Spherical cyanobacteria are probably the world’s smallest and oldest example of a camera eye.


1969 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Aspinall

The acceleration of flowering in barley due to the inclusion of incandescent illumination in the light source has been shown to be due to the far�red content of the light. A linear relationship between floral development and intensity of far�red light in a 16�hr photoperiod has been established with the cultivar CI5611. Barley appears to be relatively unresponsive to blue light, however.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e8001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangnan Sun ◽  
Xiaomei Chi ◽  
Mingfang Yang ◽  
Jingyun Ding ◽  
Dongtao Shi ◽  
...  

Small sea urchins Strongylocentrotus intermedius (1–2 cm of test diameter) are exposed to different environments of light intensities after being reseeded to the sea bottom. With little information available about the behavioral responses of S. intermedius to different light intensities in the environment, we carried out an investigation on how S. intermedius is affected by three light intensity environments in terms of phototaxis, foraging and righting behaviors. They were no light (zero lx), low light intensity (24–209 lx) and high light intensity (252–2,280 lx). Light intensity had obvious different effects on phototaxis. In low light intensity, sea urchins moved more and spent significantly more time at the higher intensity (69–209 lx) (P = 0.046). S. intermedius in high light intensity, in contrast, spent significantly more time at lower intensity (252–690 lx) (P = 0.005). Unexpectedly, no significant difference of movement (average velocity and total distance covered) was found among the three light intensities (P > 0.05). Foraging behavior of S. intermedius was significantly different among the light intensities. In the no light environment, only three of ten S. intermedius found food within 7 min. In low light intensity, nine of 10 sea urchins showed successful foraging behavior to the food placed at 209 lx, which was significantly higher than the ratio of the number (two of 10) when food was placed at 24 lx (P = 0.005). In the high light intensity, in contrast, significantly less sea urchins (three of 10) found food placed at the higher light intensity (2,280 lx) compared with the lower light intensity (252 lx) (10/10, P = 0.003). Furthermore, S. intermedius showed significantly longer righting response time in the high light intensity compared with both no light (P = 0.001) and low light intensity (P = 0.031). No significant difference was found in righting behavior between no light and low light intensity (P = 0.892). The present study indicates that light intensity significantly affects phototaxis, foraging and righting behaviors of S. intermedius and that ~200 lx might be the appropriate light intensity for reseeding small S. intermedius.


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