Escape behavior of planktonic copepods in response to hydrodynamic disturbances: high speed video analysis

Planktonic copepods exhibit rapid escape behavior in response to hydrodynamic disturbances. Small disturbances of brief duration were produced by a piezoelectric transducer moving a small cylinder. The escape responses of free-swimming adult males and females of the copepodsAcartia tonsaandA. lillje...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek) 2002-06, Vol.235, p.135-146
Main Authors: Buskey, E. J., Lenz, P. H., Hartline, D. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acartia lilljeborgii
Acartia tonsa
Animal and plant ecology
Animal escape behavior
Animal ethology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Cylinders
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hydrodynamics
Jumping
Kinetics
Legs
Marine
Mental stimulation
Predators
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Speed
Swimming
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Summary:Planktonic copepods exhibit rapid escape behavior in response to hydrodynamic disturbances. Small disturbances of brief duration were produced by a piezoelectric transducer moving a small cylinder. The escape responses of free-swimming adult males and females of the copepodsAcartia tonsaandA. lilljeborgiiwere recorded using high-speed video and quantified using computerized motion analysis techniques. Response latency, swimming speed, acceleration and turning rate during escape behavior were measured.Acartiaspp. typically respond within 4 ms to a hydrodynamic disturbance with multiple power strokes of the swimming legs. Each stroke and recovery is of ca. 7 ms duration with maximum speeds often exceeding 500 mm s–1and minimum speeds between strokes rarely falling below 100 mm s–1. Acceleration during initial escape usually exceeds 100 m s–2. Escapes often begin with rapid reorientation away from the source of the disturbance, with maximum turning rates of about 30° ms–1. Significant differences were found between the kinetics of escape responses of adult male and female copepods of each species, with males having greater maximum speeds and accelerations, and females having longer duration jumps. Significant differences were also found between males and females of the 2 species, withA. lilljeborgiiexhibiting greater speeds and more rapid acceleration than the smallerA. tonsa.
ISSN:0171-8630
1616-1599
DOI:10.3354/meps235135