Crayfish Aggressive Behavior

Most animals exhibit some type of aggressive behavior when confronted with one another, and this behavior is also shown in freshwater crayfish. Aggressive behavior in crayfish can be seen by anybody, but it becomes more prominent in a restricted laboratory setting. Groups of crayfish of about the same length and the same sex, plainly exhibit a pattern of dominance. When observed, it is noted that the crayfish perform different degrees of combative behavior. Researchers beg the question, how does the sex and the of size crayfish influence the different levels of aggression? Experiments were set up using the species Procambarus alleni Faxon. The crayfish were taken from their native ponds and swamps in Florida to a laboratory setting. In groups …show more content…
In juvenile crayfish males are not dominant over females which leads scientists to conclude that some type of hormones is the cause of male dominance in sexually mature crayfish. When crayfish were blinded their aggressive behavior was not restricted, which may be explained by evolution in nocturnal forms. Crayfish that had their antennae clipped and were blinded showed significant changes in behavior. In order for dominance in crayfish to be formed both visual and tactile senses are required. Despite the experiments producing reliable results, on an ecological scale the experiments are not valid. Crayfish behavior done in a laboratory setting has little implication. The four contact tensions: avoidance, threat, strike, and fight are in fact seen in nature. However, producing artificial conditions is hard, and crayfish don’t have a lot of space to fight as well as no refuge can be …show more content…
The article kept my attention throughout, and was packed with quality information. I take pleasure from learning new things, especially in the subject of biology.Reading about the behavior of crayfish kept me interested and I learned several new things about aggressive behavior. Personally, I thought the journal article was undoubtedly well written, and I was able to understand everything to it’s full extent. I could tell who the target audience of the article was easily by the excellence of the work. People with higher level education are meant to read the piece, yet it wasn’t difficult to understand. The article got the main points across as well as provided pertinent background information without straying from the main point. After finishing the article I thought about what I had read and came away with no questions. The author did a fantastic job of explaining crayfish behavior and why some crayfish display dominance over other crayfish.
I believe the information in the journal article will relate to an upcoming lab about crayfish behavior. The article was intended to give students background information on agonistic crayfish behavior in order to prepare for a future lab on gladiatorial behavior. Based on the amount of information in the article and the quality of the work I can determine the work is scholarly and amusing. Meaning, the article is congested with considerable amounts