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Responses of Asterias Rubens to Olfactory Stimuli

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

J. C. Castilla
Affiliation:
University College of North Wales, N.E.R.C. Unit of Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Anglesey.
D. J. Crisp
Affiliation:
University College of North Wales, N.E.R.C. Unit of Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Anglesey.

Extract

In 1883 Romanes first demonstrated the capacity of starfish to detect the presence of food. He claimed to be able to lead them in any direction by holding a piece of crab an inch or two from the end of one of the arms. He concluded that if the food was not more than a few inches away the starfish could smell it and move towards it. Milligan (1915 a-c) observed that Asterias rubens moved towards a dead pipefish from distances of 1½ in to 2 ft., and emphasized that the determined movement left no doubt that the starfish could smell the fish. Regnart (1928) found that A. rubens could locate food hidden in a bait chamber, moving away from the aerator in the centre of the tank.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1970

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