Course: Lab Animal Behavior

Analysis of movement in Chitons

Introduction:

Several species of Chiton are known to exhibit homing behaviors, journeying to feed and then returning to the exact unique spot they previously inhabited. The specific method of how chitons can perform such behaviors has been investigated to some extent, however the reason remains unknown. Suggestions include the chitons remembering the topographic profile of the region, thus being able to guide themselves back to their home scar via a physical knowledge of the rocks and a visual input by their primitive eyes,The gastropod[->0] Nerita textiles is known to deposit mucus as it moves, which a chemoreceptive organ is …ver más…

The distance of each chiton from top, bottom, and side of the rock was then measured in cm. At the next low tide the same measurements were made again in order to determine if the results were the same or not to determine if Chitons of the Dominican Republic return to their home scars.

Results:

The results show that after examine 2 Chitons in two different rocks for 3 days, they really moved. According to the measures the two chitons don’t do that far but they have significantly moves back to their “home scars” that were measured and are show below:

Chiton 1 ROCK A ||||
|Day 1|Day2|Day3|
Width|25mm|25mm|2mm|
Length|14.5mm|14.5mm|3.5mm|
From Top of the rock| 20cm| 24cm|19cm|
From Bottom of the rock|45cm|51cm|47cm|
From Left of the rock |67cm|70cm|66cm|
From Right of the rock |40cm|37cm|41cm|

Chiton 2 ROCK B ||||
|Day 1|Day2|Day3|
Width|23mm|25mm|2mm|
Length|11.5mm|14.5mm|3.5mm|
From Top of the rock| 25cm| 26cm|23cm|
From Bottom of the rock|57cm|59cm|55cm|
From Left of the rock |71cm|70cm|73cm|
From Right of the rock |30cm|33cm|32cm|

Discussion:

We can accept the fact that an animal can find its way home, or a bird can navigate for great distances on migration; we can easily prove that a squirrel can scamper back to its den in a hollow tree, even when hundreds of similar trees are in