Affiliations 

  • 1 Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 2 Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines
Trop Life Sci Res, 2018 Mar;29(1):103-112.
PMID: 29644018 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2018.29.1.7

Abstract

The effect of low pH on the tactile sense of Macrobrachium rosenbergii postlarvae was determined in the laboratory by means of two behavioural assays: shelter (netting) occupancy and jumping response to touch stimuli (taps) by a glass micropipette. The postlarvae were acclimated to pH 4, pH 5, pH 6 and pH 7.5 (control) in 45 L aquaria 5-7 d before the experiments. Shelter occupancy decreased with pH and was significantly lower at pH 4 and pH 5 than at pH 6 and in the control. The jumping response instantly followed a tap 93-98% of the time in the control, pH 6 and pH 5 treatments. However, the postlarvae showed significantly lower jumping response (65%) at pH 4, indicating an impaired tactile sense. Low pH 4-5 probably degrades the chitin of the sensory setae and inhibits the surface mechanoreceptors of the prawn postlarvae.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.