Department of Zoology and Marine Laboratory, Duke University, 28516, Beaufort, North Carolina.
J Chem Ecol. 1991 Dec;17(12):2337-46. doi: 10.1007/BF00994586.
Uca pugilator, the sand fiddler crab, is a deposit-feeder. It feeds on exposed sand flats as the tide recedes. Feeding movements are evoked by stimulation of chemoreceptors on the dactyls. Previous studies have demonstrated that a proteinaceous factor associated with the sinus gland region inhibits chemically-stimulated feeding behavior. Here, that work is extended to show the existence of a similar inhibitory factor present in the hemolymph of fed crabs in the laboratory and in the hemolymph of crabs returning from feeding in the field. The factor is not detected in fasted laboratory crabs or in field crabs walking from burrow areas to feeding sites. Injection of glucose results in inhibition of feeding activity in intact crabs. Injection of glucose, but not galactose, stimulates feeding in eyestalk-ablated crabs. We suggest that neural responsiveness is stimulated by glucose, and that elevated glucose in intact crabs results in release of feeding inhibitory factor from the sinus gland. Release of feeding inhibitory factor into the blood enables crabs to return to burrow areas without stopping when they encounter food-laden sediments.
拳师蟹，又称沙蟹，是一种滤食动物。它在退潮时以暴露的沙滩为食。其摄食运动是由指节上的化学感受器刺激引起的。先前的研究表明，与窦腺区相关的一种蛋白因子抑制化学刺激引起的摄食行为。在这里，研究工作扩展到表明，在实验室中喂养的螃蟹的血淋巴中和从野外觅食返回的螃蟹的血淋巴中存在类似的抑制因子。在禁食的实验室螃蟹或从洞穴区走向觅食地的野外螃蟹中未检测到该因子。给完整的螃蟹注射葡萄糖会抑制其摄食活动。给切除眼柄的螃蟹注射葡萄糖而不是半乳糖会刺激其摄食。我们认为，葡萄糖刺激神经反应，而完整螃蟹中葡萄糖水平的升高会导致窦腺释放摄食抑制因子。摄食抑制因子释放到血液中，使螃蟹在遇到富含食物的沉积物时能够返回洞穴区而无需停止。
