Environmental Influence on Locomotor Activity in Nephrops Norvegicus (Crustacea: Decapoda)

Diel variations in the emergence of the burrowing prawn Nephrops norvegicus (L.) have been investigated by direct field observations (Chapman & Rice, 1971; Chapman, Johnstone & Rice, 1975; Chapman & Howard, 1979; Atkinson & Naylor, 1976), and indirectly by sequential trawling during 24 h periods (Höglund & Dybern, 1965; Simpson, 1965; Hillis, 1971; Farmer, 1974; Atkinson & Naylor, 1976; Oakley, 1979). Peak emergence appears to be related to temporal and depth-dependent variations in daylight penetration, since Nephrops are apparently nocturnal in shallow waters, crepuscular as the depth increases, and diurnal at the greatest depths of their occurrence. This lends support to the suggestion that emergence occurs at an optimum light intensity (Hillis, 1971; Chapman, Priestley & Robertson, 1972; Chapman, et al., 1975; Chapman & Howard, 1979). However, additional factors influencing emergence of Nephrops from their burrows have also to be taken in account, since laboratory studies of locomotor activity in Nephrops have consistently revealed nocturnal activity patterns in light-dark (LD) regimes, with light inhibiting locomotor activity even at extremely low irradiance levels (Arechiga & Atkinson, 1975; Atkinson & Naylor, 1973, 1976; Naylor & Atkinson, 1976). Moreover, Hammond & Naylor (1977 a) have presented qualitative evidence that the nocturnal locomotor activity peak appears to be synchronized by falling light intensity at dusk. The differences between these experimental results and emergence patterns deduced from trawl catches and underwater observations of Nephrops have not been fully resolved by studies of the role of light intensity and of gradual light transitions (Arechiga & Atkinson, 1975; Hammond & Naylor, 1977 a, b). Thus the behavioural responses of Nephrops both in the field and in the laboratory need to be assessed in relation to more accurately quantified light changes. Also, despite earlier evaluation of the problem (Atkinson & Naylor, 1976; Hammond & Naylor, 1977a) it is necessary to reconsider the possibility that the patterns of locomotor activity recorded in the laboratory are influenced by experimental conditions, as has been demonstrated for minnows (Jones, 1956), and flatfish (Verheijen & de Groot, 1967).