Crown-of-Thorns Starfish recognizes communication molecules from peers

The Crown-of-Thorns starfish were left in an aquatic Y-shaped maze overnight (on top). In one of the smaller branches (bottom left on the left-hand tank and bottom right on the right-hand tank) scientists added water collected around starfish aggregations from inside an aquarium, suspecting they communicate through water-borne signals to gather in huge populations during spawning events. The COTS can be seen moving towards these specific locations, suggesting the animal reacts to molecules induced by another COTS.

The Crown-of-Thorns starfish were left in an aquatic Y-shaped maze overnight (on top). In one of the smaller branches (bottom left on the left-hand tank and bottom right on the right-hand tank) scientists added water collected around starfish aggregations from inside an aquarium, suspecting they communicate through water-borne signals to gather in huge populations during spawning events. The COTS can be seen moving towards these specific locations, suggesting the animal reacts to molecules induced by another COTS.

Date:

05 April 2017

Creator:

wilko-duprez

Credit:

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)（https://www.aims.gov.au/）

Copyright OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 沖縄科学技術大学院大学). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Share on:

Related Videos

Octopus bimaculoides Wall Crawl

Octopus bimaculoides, also known as the Californian two-spot octopus, crawling an aquarium wall Video: Z. Yan Wang, University of Chicago

Open Energy Systems Introduction (short)

This is the introduction movie of Open Energy Systems which are installed in 19 OIST faculty houses. Each house is connected with DC cable lines and exchange energy each other.

Higher Order Mode Video

This video shows a polystyrene particle propelled along a microfiber by light, first in the fundamental mode, then in a higher order mode. It is easy to see how much faster the particle zips along in the higher order mode.

Gelation Video

This video shows a soapy mixture passing through the posts in the microfluidic platform and emerging on the right as a gel.

STEPS - Visualization toolkit

In the upper left box you can see all parts of the neuron in this model, the external structure and internal compartment (ER) that holds calcium (yellow), and the proteins involved in opening the calcium channel (blue, bright magenta and dark magenta). In the other boxes, you can see the calcium or each protein separately to watch their movements and activation. In the bottom center, you can see the numerical data in real time as the model runs.