CRA-ING Agricultural Engineering Research Unit of the Agriculture Research Council - Via della Pascolare, 16, 00016 Monterotondo (Roma), Italy.
J Neurosci Methods. 2009 Oct 30;184(1):161-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2009.07.013. Epub 2009 Jul 18.
Video-image analysis can be an efficient tool for microcosm experiments portraying the modulation of individual behaviour based on sociality. The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus is a burrowing decapod the commercial capture of which occurs by trawling only when animals are engaged in seabed excursions. Emergence behaviour is modulated by the day-night cycle but a further modulation occurs upon social interaction in a still unknown fashion. Here, we present a novel automated protocol for the tracking of the movement of different animals at once based on a multivariate morphometric approach. Four black and white tags were customized according to a precise geometric design. Shape Matching and Complex Fourier Descriptors analyses were used to track tag displacement through consecutive frames in a 7-day experiment under monochromatic blue light (480 nm)-darkness conditions. Shape Matching errors were evaluated in relation to tag geometry. Time series of centroid coordinates in pixels were transformed in centimetres. The FD analysis was slightly less efficient than the Shape Matching, although more rapid (i.e. up to 20 times faster). Nocturnal rhythms were reported for all animals. Waveform analysis indicated marked differences in the amplitude of activity phases as proof of interindividual interaction. Total diel activity presented a decrease in the rate of out of burrow locomotion as the testing progressed. N. norvegicus is a nocturnal species and present observations sustain the efficiency and fidelity of our automated tracking system.
视频图像分析可以成为一种有效的工具，用于微观实验，描绘基于社会性的个体行为的调节。挪威海螯虾（Nephrops norvegicus）是一种穴居十足目甲壳动物，商业捕捞仅在动物进行海底探险时通过拖网进行。出现行为受昼夜节律调节，但在社交互动中以一种仍未知的方式进一步调节。在这里，我们提出了一种新的自动协议，用于基于多变量形态计量学方法同时跟踪不同动物的运动。根据精确的几何设计定制了四个黑白标签。形状匹配和复杂傅里叶描述符分析用于在 7 天的单色蓝光（480nm）-黑暗条件下的实验中通过连续帧跟踪标签位移。形状匹配误差与标签几何形状有关。以像素为单位的质心坐标时间序列转换为厘米。FD 分析虽然更快（即快 20 倍），但效率略低于形状匹配。所有动物都报告了夜间节律。波形分析表明，活动相位的幅度存在明显差异，证明了个体间的相互作用。全天活动的总活动率随着测试的进行而下降，离开洞穴的运动速度减慢。挪威海螯虾是一种夜间活动的物种，目前的观察结果支持我们的自动跟踪系统的效率和保真度。
