Biology subjects

Cronin, T. W.

Publications and source records attributed to Cronin, T. W..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Neuroanatomy of stomatopod central complexes offers putative neural substrate for oriented behaviors in crustaceans

All insects studied to date possess a centrally located group of neuropils, known collectively as the central complex, that has been implicated in sensory integration and motor action selection. Among the functions prescribed to the central complex, none is perhaps as intriguing as its role in orientation and navigation. Neurobiological correlates of both current and desired headings have been described in insect CXs. Despite the diversity of arthropods, understanding of the CX as a navigational center originates entirely from terrestrial insects. Stomatopod crustaceans, commonly referred to as mantis shrimps, form an order of predatory marine crustaceans with intricate and diverse visual systems that maintain the distinction of being the only fully aquatic animal known to utilize the navigational strategy of path integration. They utilize idiothetic, celestial, and landmark cues to orient in the benthos. Here, we investigate the neuroanatomy of adult and developing mantis shrimp central complexes and associated neuropils to begin understanding this brain region in a sensorially and behaviorally complex crustacean.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Mantis shrimp rank the shape of an object over its color during recognition

Mantis shrimp are predatory crustaceans that commonly occupy burrows in shallow, tropical waters worldwide. Most of these animals inhabit structurally complex, benthic environments with an abundance of visual features that are regularly observed, including conspecifics, predators, prey, and landmarks for use in navigation. While these animals are capable of learning and discriminating color and polarization, it is unknown what specific attributes of a visual object are important for its recognition. Here we show that mantis shrimp of the species Neogonodactylus oerstedii can learn the shape of a trained target. Furthermore, when the shape and color of a target which they had been trained to identify were placed in conflict, N. oerstedii significantly chose the target of the trained shape over the target of the trained color. Thus, we conclude that the shape of a target is more important than its color for its recognition by N. oerstedii. Our findings suggest that the shapes of learned structures, such as landmarks or other animals, are important for N. oerstedii during object recognition.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

Landmark navigation in a mantis shrimp

Mantis shrimp are predatory crustaceans that commonly occupy burrows in shallow, tropical waters worldwide. Most of these animals inhabit structurally complex, benthic environments where many potential landmarks are available. Mantis shrimp of the species Neogonodactylus oerstedii return to their burrows between foraging excursions using path integration, a vector-based navigational strategy that is prone to accumulated error. Here we show that N. oerstedii can navigate using landmarks in parallel with their path integration system, offseting error generated when navigating using solely path integration. We also report that when the path integration and landmark navigation systems are placed in conflict, N. oerstedii will orient using either system or even switch systems enroute. How they make the decision to trust one navigational system over another is unclear. These findings add to our understanding of the refined navigational toolkit N. oerstedii relies upon to efficiently navigate back to its burrow, complementing its robust, yet error prone, path integration system with landmark guidance.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

Mantis shrimp navigate home using celestial and idiothetic path integration

Path integration is a robust mechanism that many animals employ to return to specific locations, typically their homes, during navigation. This efficient navigational strategy has never been demonstrated in a fully aquatic animal, where sensory cues used for orientation may differ dramatically from those available above the waters surface. Here we report that the mantis shrimp, Neogonodactylus oerstedii, uses path integration informed by a hierarchical reliance on the sun, overhead polarization patterns, and idiothetic (internal) orientation cues to return home when foraging, making them the first fully aquatic path-integrating animals yet discovered. We show that mantis shrimp rely on navigational strategies closely resembling those used by insect navigators, opening a new avenue for the investigation of the neural basis of navigation behaviors and the evolution of these strategies in arthropods and potentially other animals as well.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

Path integration error and adaptable search behaviors in a mantis shrimp

Mantis shrimp of the species Neogonodactylus oerstedii occupy small burrows in shallow waters throughout the Caribbean. These animals use path integration, a vector-based navigation strategy, to return to their homes while foraging. Here we report that path integration in N. oerstedii is prone to error accumulated during outward foraging paths and we describe the search behavior that N. oerstedii employs after it fails to locate its home following the route provided by its path integrator. This search behavior forms continuously expanding, non-oriented loops that are centered near the point of search initiation. The radius of this search is apparently scaled to the animals accumulated error during path integration, improving the effectiveness of the search. The search behaviors exhibited by N. oerstedii bear a striking resemblance to search behaviors in other animals, offering potential avenues for the comparative examination of search behaviors and how they are optimized in disparate taxa. Summary StatementMantis shrimp use path integration, an error-prone navigational strategy, when travelling home. When path integration fails, mantis shrimp employ a stereotyped yet flexible search pattern to locate their homes.

animal behavior and cognition↗