Thermal acclimation in a crustacean neuromuscular system.

1. Effects of temperature on the muscle fibre membrane and synapses of stretcher muscle preparations made from autotomized limbs of the Pacific shore crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes) were investigated. 2. Acclimation of the crabs to different temperatures modified properties of both muscle fibre membrane and synapses. 3. Increased temperature produced an increase in membrane potential of the muscle fibres. A semi-log plot of these data revealed two linear phases of the membrane potential-temperature relationship, with a change in slope near the acclimation temperature. 4. Maximum values for excitatory junction potential (EJP) amplitude and time constant of EJP decay, and minimum values for facilitation were obtained at temperatures close to the acclimation temperature. It is suggested that the decline in EJP amplitude and time constant of decay produced by deviations in temperature from the acclimation temperature is compensated for by an increase in the amount of facilitation. In this way, maximum tension can be produced by the stretcher muscle in a range of at least 8 degrees C around the acclimation temperature.