A vital feature in the success of Ecdysozoa is their ability to shed their exoskeleton (a process called ecdysis) such that they can grow or change their morphology. In holometabolous insects, these behaviors are orchestrated by the sequential actions of neuropeptides, one of which is crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP). Little is known about the control of ecdysis in hemimetabolous insects....

Although crustaceans typically have a neurogenic heart, the primitive crustacean Triops longicaudatus has a myogenic heart with the heartbeat arising from the endogenous rhythmic activity of the myocardium. In the present investigation, the effects of six biogenic amines, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, octopamine, serotonin and histamine, on the myogenic heart of T. longicaudatus were e...

Our laboratory has developed several methods for the quantification of stress in crustaceans. An ELISA was developed for the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) from the American lobster (Homarus americanus). It is sensitive to as little as 0.2 fmol of peptide. Increases in hemolymph CHH were observed under conditions of hypoxia, elevated temperature, and altered salinity. In addition, eleva...