Circadian rhythm in locomotor activity in the burrower crayfish Procambarus acanthophorus (Villalobos 1948)

Abstract

Crayfish Procambarus acanthophorus is a burrower that spends long periods building deep tunnels to reach the water table during the dry season; thus, its survival entertains a close ecological relationship with the sediment. The aim of this work was to determine whether the properties of the circadian rhythm of locomotor activity could be modified by the sediment availability. Experiments were conducted in both aquaria filled with sediment or filled with water, under cycles of Bright and Dim Illumination (BI:DI, 12:12 h) or under continuous DI:DI. The rhythm of locomotor activity was entrained with the photoperiod in aquaria with sediment or water; however, statistical differences between conditions were obtained comparing the period and the level of activity under free-running. These data suggest that the substrate’s sensorial perception could be encoded as a significant ecological parameter that exerts influence in the physiological mechanisms that control the temporal order in P. acanthophorus.

Keywords:

• Circadian rhythm
• locomotor activity
• burrowing crayfish
• ecological factor
• behavior

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Comisión de Becas Posdoctorales, UAM-Xochimilco, Mexico. We thank Mr. Gaspar Yépez for supplying the crayfish for the study. Thanks also to Maggie Brunner for correcting the English of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana- Xochimilco (UAM-Xochimilco).