Ectosymbionts alter spontaneous responses to the Earth's magnetic field in a crustacean.

ABSTRACT: Magnetic sensing is used to structure every-day, non-migratory behaviours in many animals. We show that crayfish exhibit robust spontaneous magnetic alignment responses. These magnetic behaviours are altered by interactions with Branchiobdellidan worms, which are obligate ectosymbionts. Branchiobdellidan worms have previously been shown to have positive effects on host growth when present at moderate densities, and negative effects at relatively high densities. Here we show that crayfish with moderate densities of symbionts aligned bimodally along the magnetic northeast-southwest axis, similar to passive magnetic alignment responses observed across a range of stationary vertebrates. In contrast, crayfish with high symbiont densities failed to exhibit consistent alignment relative to the ma

SUBMITTER: Landler L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6395607 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature