Abstract
Estuarine ecosystems are dynamic environments shaped by complex interactions among species, pathogens, and environmental factors. Understanding the effects of viral infections like CsRV1 on crustacean species in estuarine ecosystems holds significant ecological and economic implications. This research contributes to our understanding of these impacts and underlines the importance of further investigations in this field.
This experiment aimed to explore the efficiency of predicting CsRV1 infection using Reflex Behaviors in Callinectes spp. Specifically we looked at the reflex behaviors of three species of neotropical crabs: Callinectes similis, C. ornatus, C. sapidus. My hypothesis was that reflex assessments can be used as a tool by fisheries monitors to predict whether crabs are infected with CsRV1. The experiment included the following treatments: CsRV1 infected small carbs, CsRV1 infected big crabs, Saline injected small crabs, and saline injected big crabs.
For three of the four treatment groups, there were no significant differences in reflex frequencies between days 1 and 10. However, Callinectes sapidus exhibited significant differences in all six reflexes between their initial and final day. Although, significant differences were seen the frequencies shifted too quickly from strong to no response to have sufficient time to determine infection before they died. This suggest that the reflex assessment cannot be used as predictive tool for CsRv1 infection. The collection of hemolymph for future research may provide valuable insights into the potential impacts of CsRV1 on these species and factors driving variable species responses.