State-dependent, visually guided behaviors in the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae.

ABSTRACT: Nudibranch mollusks have structurally simple eyes whose behavioral roles have not been established. We tested the effects of visual stimuli on the behavior of the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae under different food and hunger conditions. In an arena that was half-shaded, animals spent most of their time in the dark, where they also decreased their speed and made more changes in heading. These behavioral differences between the light and dark were less evident in uniformly illuminated or darkened arenas, suggesting that they were not caused by the level of illumination. Berghia stephanieae responded to distant visual targets; animals approached a black stripe that was at least 15 deg wide on a white background. They did not approach a stripe that was lighter than the background but approach

SUBMITTER: Quinlan PD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10560555 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature