To date, the natural substratum preferences of early benthic phase (EBP) European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) remain largely unknown. This study utilised a large scale mesocosm experiment to determine if the animal favours cobble ground, similar to its American counterpart (Homarus americanus), or has other substratum preferences. Postlarvae were provided with the choice of settling on four nat...

1. The morphology, sensory responses and reflex effects of two proprioceptive systems in the swimmerets of the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus are described. 2. Two bipolar cells embedded in an elastic strand (strand B) which spans from the sternal rib to the proximal edge of the basipodite respond to stretch of the strand, applied directly or through swimmeret protraction. Powerstroke moton...

The stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of adult lobsters and crabs generates a number of different rhythmic motor patterns which control different regional movements of the foregut. Since these output patterns are generated by discrete neural networks that, in the adult, are well characterized in terms of synaptic and cellular properties, this system constitutes an ideal model for exploring t...