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Tajemství chemické komunikace u raků - přehledová studie a metodické cesty
ERBAN, Pavel
Chemical communication is one of the most important aspects of crayfish life and this is the most effective way of communication for them. Thanks to it, crayfish can effectively transmit information in a complex aquatic environment. Crayfish use chemical communication when interact in the environment, during building a social hierarchy, aggressive behaviour or during maternal care. The aim of this work was to create a concise literature review on known aspects of chemical communication in crayfish, together with testing urine sampling methods and their functionality. The methods used were confirmed to be functional and usable for further sampling with methodological notes and adjustments. In accordance with our results, it was evident that the amount of urine samples was lower when crayfish underwent previous interactions. For marbled crayfish, a positive linear trend of the samples size was visible with increasing weight and cephalothorax length of individuals. For signal crayfish, this trend was not evident for crayfish without previous interactions. This bachelor thesis forms the basis for further study of chemical communication in crayfish and at the same time offers a first confirmation of a functional method of urine sampling from crayfish for its further chemical analyses.
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Pach vítězství: role feromonů v interakcích raků
MAREŠ, Josef
Analysis of communication, hierarchy, and role of pheromones in crayfish is an interesting area that constantly brings new knowledge and can help us understand some facts that may be valid not only for crayfish but also other crustaceans. In this work, it was therefore studied how the offspring of two females behave in a one tank. After the dominance establishment in females (after a series of contacts and fights), the offspring of preferred a dominant female only, regardless of if their own or a unfamiliar mother. The dominant female, that successfully fought the fights, collected juveniles by its active movement, and they followed its movements. The subordinate female accepted her position, tried to avoid contacts, and reduced its activity. The juveniles practically ignored the subordinate mother at this stage of the experiment. Within the diploma thesis, all set goals were achieved and the newly discovered facts may be an important part of further follow-up experiments. We were able to respond positively to all primary hypotheses when: 1 / Females of marbled crayfish in one tank always established a relationship of the dominant and subordinate one, 2 / marbled crayfish juveniles always chose only one mother in a common tank, and 3 / it was in all cases the dominant one. The results show that dominance (whether communicated chemically or by visual stimuli) is a more important factor for juvenile crayfish than the specific brood pheromeone of their mother. The results bring significant knowledge to the issue of the hierarchy of various chemical and visual signals in crayfish communication. Thus, certain communication signals seem to be superior to others. The "winner odours" are probably stronger than such a strong stimulus as the brood pheromone responsible for recognizing the offspring and the mother. On the other hand, it is not possible to rule out a possible effect of the unattractiveness of the subordinate mother. How the relationships among the subordinate female, dominant female and their offspring would develop in remains opened to further research hypotheses.
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Burrowing behaviour in crayfish
GUO, Wei
This PhD thesis is devoted to exploring the unresolved ecological gaps in freshwater crayfish burrowing behaviour from three parts, which are: a) the extreme weather conditions like drought; b) aquatic contamination; c) interspecific interactions. The first chapter of the thesis deals with the introduction of the basic information and background related to the burrowing behaviour of freshwater crayfish. The unresolved ecological gaps related to freshwater crayfish burrowing behaviour are: a) the potential effects of drought on crayfish reproduction; b) effects of aquatic contamination on the freshwater crayfish burrowing behaviour; c) crayfish competition for shelter as a primary resource. The second chapter explores whether embryogenesis or postembryonic development of freshwater crayfish can occur without free standing water inside the burrow. To address this question, three experiments were conducted using artificial burrows with high air humidity and using marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017) as a model species. We found that the ability of marbled crayfish to undergo terminal phases of embryogenesis, including hatching, as well as early postembryonic development under high air humidity conditions only. Postembryonic development was suspended in the absence of free water, and successfully resumed when re-immersed. This similar ability to tolerate drought-like conditions during postembryonic development may also occur in other crayfish species, especially primary burrowers. The third and fourth chapters covers the effects of water contamination on crayfish (red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii as model species) burrowing behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that burrowing behaviour of the red swamp crayfish would be altered with exposure to PhACs and herbicides at concentrations frequently detected in aquatic environments. As representative PhACs, we chose methamphetamine (METH) and tramadol (TRA) (1 ?g/L) (Chapters 3), and, as herbicides, terbuthylazine (TERB) and metazachlor (META) (2 ?g/L) (Chapters 4). We reported for the first time that depth and volume of burrows constructed by methamphetamine-exposed females was significantly lower than of unexposed controls. Tramadol-exposed females consistently exhibited a tendency to excavate smaller burrows compared with controls, although this was not significant (Chapter 3). Impact of herbicides on burrowing behaviour was less clearly manifested, although male crayfish exposed to META constructed a significantly higher number of burrows than did other groups (Chapter 4). The fifth and sixth chapters describe aggression of marbled crayfish during interspecific interactions under laboratory conditions was quantified by characterizing their direct agonistic interactions and competition for shelter with calico crayfish Faxonius immunis and spiny-cheek crayfish Faxonius limosus. Differences in aggression may predict interactions and outcomes under natural conditions. We found marbled crayfish to dominate size-matched calico crayfish (Chapter 5) and spiny-cheek crayfish (Chapter 6) in agonistic encounters. The higher activity and aggressiveness of marbled crayfish could facilitate displacement of other non-indigenous crayfish species either by direct interaction or through competition for resources such as shelter and food. The seventh chapter of the thesis presents the general discussion and summary obtained by the five chapters mentioned above. These data represent basic scientific information valuable for practical application. The outcomes of interactions among crayfish under laboratory conditions can be critical to evaluating over-invaded communities and ecosystems harbouring invasive species that share similar life histories, niche preference, and adaptation strategies.
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Porcelain disease in crayfish: biology, impacts and distribution
Jelínková, Tereza ; Balcarová, Eva (advisor) ; Vávra, Jiří (referee)
The porcelain disease is a disease affecting crayfish caused by the microsporidium Thelohania contejeani. This intracellular parasite attacks muscle cells of the host and fills them with spores. This leads to white or opaque colouration of the abdominal muscle of crayfish, which is characteristic for this disease. The parasite gradually attacks more muscle fibers which probably leads to decrease of locomotor activity of affected crayfish and finally may result in their death. T. contejeani at low prevalences does not represent a real danger to crayfish populations and thus it is not as serious threat as crayfish plague. However, it has been associated with several cases of mass mortalities too. This thesis summarizes essential findings about infection by this parasite, analyzes its impacts to the host and factors that can influence transmission and progress of this disease. It also describes a life cycle of T. contejeani, summarizes records of the occurrence of this parasite and evaluates risks which it poses to crayfish populations. Finally, methods used to detect infection are described. Keywords: Thelohania contejeani, porcelain disease, crayfish, microsporidia, parasite, muscle
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Porcelain disease in crayfish: biology, impacts and distribution
Jelínková, Tereza ; Balcarová, Eva (advisor) ; Vávra, Jiří (referee)
The porcelain disease is a disease affecting crayfish caused by the microsporidium Thelohania contejeani. This intracellular parasite attacks muscle cells of the host and fills them with spores. This leads to white or opaque colouration of the abdominal muscle of crayfish, which is characteristic for this disease. The parasite gradually attacks more muscle fibers which probably leads to decrease of locomotor activity of affected crayfish and finally may result in their death. T. contejeani at low prevalences does not represent a real danger to crayfish populations and thus it is not as serious threat as crayfish plague. However, it has been associated with several cases of mass mortalities too. This thesis summarizes essential findings about infection by this parasite, analyzes its impacts to the host and factors that can influence transmission and progress of this disease. It also describes a life cycle of T. contejeani, summarizes records of the occurrence of this parasite and evaluates risks which it poses to crayfish populations. Finally, methods used to detect infection are described. Keywords: Thelohania contejeani, porcelain disease, crayfish, microsporidia, parasite, muscle
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Usage of dissection of invertebrate animals in education of biology at secondary school
Ondrová, Radka ; Mourek, Jan (advisor) ; Říhová, Dagmar (referee)
The thesis is focused on anatomy and implementation of dissections of 4 selected model invertebrates in school practice. The selected model species include swan mussel (Anodonta cygnea), stick insect (Medauroidea extradentata), cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and sea urchin (Echinus esculentus). In case of the cockchafer, the text is based on this model species, but the supporting photographs of dissection are taken from the tropical cetoniid beetle Pachnoda, which has very similar internal anatomy with the cockchafer. For all selected animals, I describe external and internal morphology as well as recommended methods of obtaining the material, proper killing of specimens, and dissection techniques. The text is supplemented with original digital macrophotographs. The thesis includes also an overview of primary and secondary school textbooks with focus on anatomy of the selected animals. The text is supplemented by a glossary of morphological terminology used in this thesis. Attached is a photographic atlas of dissections, which is a combination of this master thesis and my bachelor thesis (defended in 2010), in which I dealt with five model invertebrates in the same way. This is Ascaris suum, Lumbricus terrestris, Helix pomatia, Procambarus aff. fallax and Archimandrita tesselata. The complete...
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Study of the reproductive biology of the crayfish - mating, laying eggs and morphological structure of the male and female gametes
KUBEC, Jan
In the nature, crayfish are represented like predators or a part of food base of some fish. Also in free waters they acts as detrivors and are an important element in the nutrient and energy circle in aquatic ecosystem. The crayfish weren't able to avoid negative impacts of anthropogenic activities such as water pollution and devastation of habitats. For these reasons reproduction of the crayfish is necessary in hatcheries and farms. The main aim of my work was to study the reproductive biology of the crayfish focused on the process of mating, the interval between mating and laying eggs, fertilization and morphological structure of the male and female gametes. Among the secondary objectives there was included using of repeated electrostimulation of the crayfish and the possibility of hybrids of the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) and the narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus). The observation of the period of reproduction was realized on representativies of the noble crayfish and the narrow-clawed crayfish throughout natural mating in the tanks. The structure of gametes was observed on the samples taken from thenoble crayfish (Astacus astacus), the narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and spinycheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus). The experiments were carried out during the autumn season in 2012 and 2013. The results of observations of the reproduction of crayfish made us clear as for the period and intervals for all phases of the process of mating crayfish. For females the noble crayfish and the narrow-clawed crayfish was found oviposition without the presence of males. Their individual components have been described by using ultrastructure of males and female gametes. Repeated electrostimulation showed at the family Astacidae as a suitable tool for collecting large mass of sperm material. Hybridization experiment proved that it can occur to mate the two species of crayfish in areas where they occur simultaneously. These experiments helped to further knowledge of reproductive biology of crayfish.
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Biologie rozmnožování u raků
NIKSIRAT HASHJIN, Hamid
The ultrastructure of spermatozoa from six crayfish species were described. The acrosome complex and nucleus are located at the anterior and posterior of the spermatozoon, respectively. The acrosome complex organelle is divided into two main parts: the main body of the acrosome that is a dense inverted cup-shaped structure and organized into three layers of differing electron densities and extended parallel filaments, and the sub-acrosome zone occupying the central part of the acrosome complex, which is divided into two electron dense areas. The spermatozoon of Orconectes limosus is described for the first time. In addition, an acrosome spike in the spermatozoon of Procambarus clarkii is described. Despite a well conserved general structure and similarity of pattern among these spermatozoa, differences in the dimensions of the acrosome within the studied species may be useful to help distinguish the different crayfish. The ultrastructure of the spermatozoon and spermatophore wall of the narrow clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus during three stages including freshly ejaculated, post-mating, and after release of the spermatozoon were described and compared. The crayfish spermatophore consists of a sperm mass enveloped by a three layered spermatophore wall. After mating, the thickness of the outer layer of the spermatophore is increased. The matrix in the middle layer of the spermatophore becomes reticulated, and granules inside this layer release their contents. Fibers in the inner layer degrade to small particles. The spermatozoon capsule swells and space between the capsule and the spermatozoon appears. The area of the plasma membrane is increased by wrinkling of the surface and alteration from a single to a multilayered structure at the anterior part of the acrosome. The density of the subacrosome zone increases in the vicinity of the main body of the acrosome. With the onset of fertilization, the layers of the spermatophore are dissolved by female glair glands secretions. The capsule, plasma membrane, and membranous lamellae are eliminated, and bundles of filaments are released. The subacrosome zone loses electron density and retracts. The electron-dense material of the innermost layer of the acrosome is discharged and, together with filaments, forms a filament/droplet structure at the anterior part of the spermatozoon. The most important change is observed in the subacrosome zone, which may play a key role in the fertilization. Also, morphological changes of the spermatozoon after release from the capsule, especially formation of the filament/droplet structure, may contribute to the mechanism of egg-spermatozoon binding in the crayfish.
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Comparison of Postembryonic Development of Native and Non-native Crayfish
KANTA, Jan
The diploma thesis observed the indicators of growth in individual developmental stages of our native crayfish (Astacus astacus, Austropotamobius torrentium, Astacus leptodactylus) and non-native crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus, Orconectes limosus) under experimental conditions. The next aim of work was to describe the time of hatching of these species, the moulting interval, the frequency of moulting and increase after individual moulting during the first vegetation season in two different temperatures (15{$\rm^o$}C a 21{$\rm^o$}C).
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