![Sample our Environment & Agriculture journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5934/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Agriculture.jpg"})
Abstract
A study of the daily activity pattern of male Aegla schmitti was carried out in the laboratory. Animals were acclimated in aquaria with a water temperature of 18.5 °C and a photoperiod of 12:12 (day/night) for seven days. Two experiments were then performed. The first consisted of observing animals during the daytime when subjected to a natural photoperiod (NP); the second consisted of observing animals during the daytime hours but in the dark, whilst they were living under an inverted photoperiod (RP). The animals spent more time in active behaviors in the light and the time spent in these behaviors decreased during the night. By contrast, swimming and grooming showed peaks at 9:00 pm and midnight. This study is the first to evaluate the biology of behavioral aspects of A. schmitti, providing valuable information about feeding habits, mechanisms and patterns of agonistic activity in this crustacean family.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Post-graduate Program in Zoology at the Federal University of Paraná for providing facilities for the development of the present work and to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) from the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology for scholarships granted to AT and MZM. Also, we are grateful to anonymous reviewers that improve the quality of this work. All biological sample collecting and in situ handling in the present study complied with the current laws of Paraná State and the Brazilian Federal Government and were conducted with the permission of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources – IBAMA – of Paraná State (Authorization No. 16.140-1-DIFAP/IBAMA, 17/071998). This is contribution No. 1838 of the Department of Zoology, UFPR.