THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND ACCLIMATION ON CRUSTACEAN NERVE-MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

¹ Villanova University, Department of Biology, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085

Crustaceans, like most ectotherms, have body temperatures that are close to ambient. Although some animals live in constant warm conditions, most crustaceans live in environments with both short- and long-term temperature fluctuations. Rapid temperature changes generally produce changes in the properties of the nerve and muscle membranes. As a result increases in temperature generally cause a decrease in the effectiveness of neuromuscular transmission. This is offset by an increase in the amount of synaptic facilitation, an increase in axon firing frequencies, and in some motor axons the production of additional responses in the peripheral branches. Although these changes act to overcome temperature-induced decreases in muscle tension, little is known about how the intact animal utilizes these changes to produce coordinated movements at different temperatures.

Long-term changes in thermal conditions alter the properties of the motor nerves and the muscles. This results in a shift in the temperature range over which there is optimal neuromuscular performance towards the acclimation temperature.

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