Escape behaviour in the stomatopod crustacean Squilla mantis, and the evolution of the caridoid escape reaction

Substrate Interactions and Free-Swimming Dynamics in the Crayfish Escape Response

The caridoid or "tail flip" escape behavior of decapod crustaceans is a model system in neurobiology, but many aspects of its biomechanics are not well understood. To understand how the freshwater virile crayfish Faxonius virilis interacts with the substrate during the tail flip, we studied tail-flip hydrodynamics and force generation for free-moving animals standing on substrate, as well as tethered animals held at different distances from the substrate. We found no significant differences in force generation when distance from substrate was varied. Particle image velocimetry revealed that vortex formation was similar at all distances, but there were notable differences in interactions between shed vortices and substrate at different distances. Negative vorticity (clockwise flow of water) was observed in tethered animals interacting with the substrate but was largely absent in free-swimming animals. We found no evidence of ground effects enhancing tail flip performance in either tethered or free-swimming individuals, as peak force generation occurred before vortex shedding. This study contributes to our understanding of the crayfish escape response and highlights the need for more work that incorporates free-swimming animals and complex environments in the study of crustacean biomechanics.

Hydrodynamics of the fast-start caridoid escape response in Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba

Krill are shrimp-like crustaceans with a high degree of mobility and variety of documented swimming behaviors. The caridoid escape response, a fast-start mechanism unique to crustaceans, occurs when the animal performs a series of rapid abdominal flexions and tail flipping that results in powerful backward strokes. The current results quantify the animal kinematics and three-dimensional flow field around a free-swimming Euphausia superba as it performs the caridoid escape maneuver. The specimen performs a single abdominal flexion-tail flip combination that leads to an acceleration over a 42 ms interval allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 57.0 cm/s (17.3 body lengths/s). The krill's tail flipping during the abdominal closure is a significant contributor to the thrust generation during the maneuver. The krill sheds a complex chain of vortex rings in its wake due to the viscous flow effects while the organism accelerates. The vortex ring structure reveals a strong suction flow in the wake, which suggests that the pressure distribution and form drag play a role in the force balance for this maneuver. Antarctic krill typically swim in a low to intermediate Reynolds number (Re) regime where viscous forces are significant, but as shown by this analysis, its high maneuverability allows it to quickly change its body angle and swimming speed.

Escape behavior and escape circuit activation in juvenile crayfish during prey-predator interactions

The neural systems that control escape behavior have been studied intensively in several animals, including mollusks, fish and crayfish. Surprisingly little is known, however, about the activation and the utilization of escape circuits during prey-predator interactions. To complement the physiological and anatomical studies with a necessary behavioral equivalent, we investigated encounters between juvenile crayfish and large dragonfly nymphs in freely behaving animals using a combination of high-speed video-recordings and measurements of electric field potentials. During attacks, dragonfly nymphs rapidly extended their labium, equipped with short, sharp palps, to capture small crayfish. Crayfish responded to the tactile stimulus by activating neural escape circuits to generate tail-flips directed away from the predator. Tail-flips were the sole defense mechanism in response to an attack and every single strike was answered by tail-flip escape behavior. Crayfish used all three known types of escape tail-flips during the interactions with the dragonfly nymphs. Tail-flips generated by activity in the giant neurons were predominantly observed to trigger the initial escape responses to an attack, but non-giant mediated tail-flips were often generated to attempt escape after capture. Attacks to the front of the crayfish triggered tail-flips mediated either by the medial giant neuron or by non-giant circuitry, whereas attacks to the rear always elicited tail-flips mediated by the lateral giant neuron. Overall, tail flipping was found to be a successful behavior in preventing predation, and only a small percentage of crayfish were killed and consumed.

Loss of escape responses and giant neurons in the tailflipping circuits of slipper lobsters, Ibacus spp. (Decapoda, Palinura, Scyllaridae)

In many decapod crustaceans, escape tailflips are triggered by lateral giant (LG) and medial giant (MG) interneurons, which connect to motor giant (MoG) abdominal flexor neurons. Several decapods have lost some or all of these giant neurons, however. Because escape-related giant neurons have not been documented in palinurans, I examined tailflipping and abdominal nerve cords for giant neurons in two scyllarid lobster species, Ibacus peronii and Ibacus alticrenatus. Unlike decapods with giant neurons, Ibacus do not tailflip in response to sudden taps. Ibacus can perform non-giant tailflipping: the frequency of tailflips during swimming is adjusted by altering the gap between each individual tailflip. Abdominal nerve cord sections show no LG or MG interneurons. Backfilling nerve 3 of abdominal ganglia revealed no MoG neurons, and the fast flexor motor neuron population is otherwise identical to that described for crayfish. The loss of giant neurons in Ibacus represents an independent deletion of these cells compared to other reptantian decapods known to have lost these giant neurons. This loss is correlated with the normal posture in scyllarids, in which the last two abdominal segments are flexed, and an alternative defensive strategy, concealment by digging into sand.

The dynamics and scaling of force production during the tail-flip escape response of the California spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus

The tail-flip escape behavior is a stereotypical motor pattern of decapod crustaceans in which swift adduction of the tail to the thorax causes the animal to rotate, move vertically into the water column and accelerate rapidly backwards. Previous predictions that a strong jet force is produced during the flip as the tail adducts to the body are not supported by our simultaneous measurements of force production (using a transducer) and the kinematics (using high-speed video) of tail-flipping by the California spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus. Maximum force production occurred when the tail was positioned approximately normal to the body. Resultant force values dropped to approximately 15 % of maximum during the last third of the flip and continued to decline as the tail closed against the body. In addition, maximum acceleration of the body of free-swimming animals occurs when the tail is positioned approximately normal to the body, and acceleration declines steadily to negative values as the tail continues to close. Thus, the tail appears to act largely as a paddle. Full flexion of the tail to the body probably increases the gliding distance by reducing drag and possibly by enhancing fluid circulation around the body.Morphological measurements indicate that Panulirus interruptus grows isometrically. However, measurements of tail-flip force production for individuals with a body mass (M(b)) ranging from 69 to 412 g indicate that translational force scales as M(b)(0.83). This result suggests that force production scales at a rate greater than that predicted by the isometric scaling of muscle cross-sectional area (M(b)(2/3)), which supports previously published data showing that the maximum accelerations of the tail and body of free-swimming animals are size-independent. Torque (τ) scaled as M(b)(1.29), which is similar to the hypothesized scaling relationship of M(b)(4/3). Given that τ is proportional to M(b)(1.29), one would predict rotational acceleration of the body (α) to decrease with increasing size as M(b)(−)(0.37), which agrees with previously published kinematic data showing a decrease in α with increased M(b).