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Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean

Ross Davies, Mary Gagen Orcid Logo, James Bull Orcid Logo, Ed Pope Orcid Logo

Biology Letters, Volume: 15, Issue: 10, Start page: 20190407

Swansea University Authors: Mary Gagen Orcid Logo, James Bull Orcid Logo, Ed Pope Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0407

Abstract

Spatial learning is an ecologically important trait well studied in vertebrates but only in a few invertebrates and poorly understood in crustaceans. We explored the ability of European shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, to learn a complex maze over four consecutive weeks using food as a motivator. Crabs...

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Published in: Biology Letters
ISSN: 1744-9561 1744-957X
Published: The Royal Society 2019
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa52331
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spelling 2020-10-27T13:53:15.8511069 v2 52331 2019-10-04 Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean e677a6d0777aed90ac1eca8937e43d2b 0000-0002-6820-6457 Mary Gagen Mary Gagen true false 20742518482c020c80b81b88e5313356 0000-0002-4373-6830 James Bull James Bull true false cc94aaa2d177220c8df0b3b3edae1370 0000-0001-5781-5575 Ed Pope Ed Pope true false 2019-10-04 SGE Spatial learning is an ecologically important trait well studied in vertebrates but only in a few invertebrates and poorly understood in crustaceans. We explored the ability of European shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, to learn a complex maze over four consecutive weeks using food as a motivator. Crabs showed a steady improvement in their ability to learn and use the maze to find food during this conditioning period. Improvements were seen both in the time taken to find the food and in a reduciton in the number of wrong turns taken before the food was located. Crabs also clearly showed the ability to remember the maze. When we returned them to the maze following a two week break, but without any food in the maze, they all returned to the end of the maze in under eight minutes. Crabs that had not been conditioned to the maze took far longer to reach the end and 42% of individuals did not get to the end of the maze at all during a one-hour study period. Our study provides an initial description of spatial learning in the European shore crab. Bettering our understanding of this adaptive trait will develop our understanding of resource exploitation by benthic crustaceans and their ecological roles. Journal Article Biology Letters 15 10 20190407 The Royal Society 1744-9561 1744-957X Crab, spatial learning, maze, Carcinus maenas 31 10 2019 2019-10-31 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0407 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0407 COLLEGE NANME Geography COLLEGE CODE SGE Swansea University 2020-10-27T13:53:15.8511069 2019-10-04T10:40:55.7972394 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Ross Davies 1 Mary Gagen 0000-0002-6820-6457 2 James Bull 0000-0002-4373-6830 3 Ed Pope 0000-0001-5781-5575 4 52331__15474__4284105c2f364a29b331bb572b9790bb.pdf MazelearningincrabsDaviesetal2019.pdf 2019-10-04T10:41:42.2570000 Output 278982 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2019-10-04T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
spellingShingle Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
Mary Gagen
James Bull
Ed Pope
title_short Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
title_full Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
title_fullStr Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
title_full_unstemmed Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
title_sort Maze learning and memory in a decapod crustacean
author_id_str_mv e677a6d0777aed90ac1eca8937e43d2b
20742518482c020c80b81b88e5313356
cc94aaa2d177220c8df0b3b3edae1370
author_id_fullname_str_mv e677a6d0777aed90ac1eca8937e43d2b_***_Mary Gagen
20742518482c020c80b81b88e5313356_***_James Bull
cc94aaa2d177220c8df0b3b3edae1370_***_Ed Pope
author Mary Gagen
James Bull
Ed Pope
author2 Ross Davies
Mary Gagen
James Bull
Ed Pope
format Journal article
container_title Biology Letters
container_volume 15
container_issue 10
container_start_page 20190407
publishDate 2019
institution Swansea University
issn 1744-9561
1744-957X
doi_str_mv 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0407
publisher The Royal Society
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0407
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description Spatial learning is an ecologically important trait well studied in vertebrates but only in a few invertebrates and poorly understood in crustaceans. We explored the ability of European shore crabs, Carcinus maenas, to learn a complex maze over four consecutive weeks using food as a motivator. Crabs showed a steady improvement in their ability to learn and use the maze to find food during this conditioning period. Improvements were seen both in the time taken to find the food and in a reduciton in the number of wrong turns taken before the food was located. Crabs also clearly showed the ability to remember the maze. When we returned them to the maze following a two week break, but without any food in the maze, they all returned to the end of the maze in under eight minutes. Crabs that had not been conditioned to the maze took far longer to reach the end and 42% of individuals did not get to the end of the maze at all during a one-hour study period. Our study provides an initial description of spatial learning in the European shore crab. Bettering our understanding of this adaptive trait will develop our understanding of resource exploitation by benthic crustaceans and their ecological roles.
published_date 2019-10-31T04:04:38Z
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