Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 29;17(8):e0273055. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273055. eCollection 2022.
The burrow morphology of endobenthic organisms reflects their subsurface ecology. In this study, we observed the three-dimensional development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus in a tank using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. CT scanning was performed at 10-30 min intervals immediately after the start of burrow construction. The three-dimensional morphology (surface area, volume, depth, length, and diameter) of burrows at each observation time was imaged and measured. In addition, the rate of increase of each parameter was calculated. Surface area, volume, length, and depth rapidly increased immediately after the start of the experiment in all burrows. Subsequently, there was a reduction in the rate of increase at 40 min after the start of excavation for burrow depth, at 75 min for length, and at 90 min for surface area and volume. Although there were large differences in burrow diameter among the burrows immediately after the start of the experiment, all burrows reached nearly identical diameters after 90 min. Changes in burrow morphology were not observed in most of the burrows more than 210 min after the start of the experiment, meaning that A. bellulus can create burrows that are sufficient for survival within this time period. The use of CT scans in this study clarified the developmental process of the three-dimensional structure of A. bellulus burrows and is applicable to various burrow-producing organisms. Our results provide new insights into the development of burrow structures.
穴居生物的洞穴形态反映了它们的地下生态学。在这项研究中，我们使用 X 射线计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描仪观察了老虎手枪虾 Alpheus bellulus 在水箱中建造洞穴的三维发展过程。CT 扫描在开始挖掘后 10-30 分钟的间隔内进行。在每个观察时间点，对洞穴的三维形态（表面积、体积、深度、长度和直径）进行成像和测量。此外，还计算了每个参数的增长率。在所有洞穴中，表面积、体积、长度和深度在实验开始后立即迅速增加。随后，在挖掘后 40 分钟时，深度的增长率降低，在 75 分钟时，长度的增长率降低，在 90 分钟时，表面积和体积的增长率降低。尽管实验开始后所有洞穴的直径存在很大差异，但所有洞穴在 90 分钟后都达到了几乎相同的直径。在实验开始后 210 分钟以上的大多数洞穴中，没有观察到洞穴形态的变化，这意味着 A. bellulus 可以在这段时间内创造出足以生存的洞穴。本研究中 CT 扫描的使用阐明了 A. bellulus 洞穴三维结构的发育过程，适用于各种产生洞穴的生物。我们的研究结果为洞穴结构的发育提供了新的见解。
