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First published online June 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2480-2485 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02211

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The relationship between body size and evoked potentials from the statocysts of the prawn Palaemon serratus

J. M. Lovell^1,*, R. M. Moate², L. Christiansen² and M. M. Findlay¹

¹ School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences and University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
² Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: j.lovell{at}plymouth.ac.uk)

Accepted 16 March 2006

The organisation of the statocyst hair cells and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) generated by the afferents in three body size classes of prawn (Palaemon serratus) have been studied using a combination of anatomical, electron microscopic and electrophysiological approaches. The statistical examination of the relationship between the sensory setae and body size showed an increase in both the length and number of statocyst hair cells as the animal grows. In view of this finding, the response of the statocyst organ to a 500 Hz tone burst was recorded from four specimens from each size class using two subcutaneous electrodes, positioned in the carapace close to the supraoesophageal ganglion and statocyst. Neither body size nor the number of afferents in the statocyst has any significant impact on the amplitude of AEPs in response to the 500 Hz tone burst. The findings of this study show that P. serratus is capable of hearing a 500 Hz tone regardless of body size, a finding that is of ecological importance when considering the effect of anthropogenic sound on crustaceans.

Key words: crustacean, sensory system, hair cell, evoked potential, ontogeny, hearing, Palaemon serratus