Horner Amy J, Nickles Scott P, Weissburg Marc J, Derby Charles D
Brains and Behavior Program, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Biology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 4010, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4010, USA.
Biol Bull. 2006 Oct;211(2):128-39. doi: 10.2307/4134587.
Caribbean spiny lobsters display a diversity of social behaviors, one of the most prevalent of which is gregarious diurnal sheltering. Previous research has demonstrated that shelter selection is chemically mediated, but the source of release and the identity of the aggregation signal are unknown. In this study, we investigated the source and specificity of the aggregation signal in Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus. We developed a relatively rapid test of shelter choice in a 5000-l laboratory flume that simulated flow conditions in the spiny lobster's natural environment, and used it to examine the shelter preference of the animals in response to a variety of odorants. We found that both males and females associated preferentially with shelters emanating conspecific urine of either sex, but not with shelters emanating seawater, food odors, or the scent of a predatory octopus. These results demonstrate specificity in the cues mediating sheltering behavior and show that urine is at least one source of the aggregation signal.
加勒比刺龙虾表现出多种社会行为，其中最普遍的一种是群居性日间庇护。先前的研究表明，庇护所的选择是由化学物质介导的，但释放源和聚集信号的身份尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们调查了加勒比刺龙虾（Panulirus argus）聚集信号的来源和特异性。我们在一个5000升的实验室水槽中开发了一种相对快速的庇护所选择测试，该水槽模拟了刺龙虾自然环境中的水流条件，并用它来研究动物对各种气味剂的庇护所偏好。我们发现，雄性和雌性都优先与散发任何一种性别的同种尿液的庇护所相关联，但不与散发海水、食物气味或捕食性章鱼气味的庇护所相关联。这些结果证明了介导庇护行为的线索具有特异性，并表明尿液至少是聚集信号的一个来源。
