Turbo undulatus, though rather unresponsive and slow-moving, have sophisticated and complex behaviors. They are responsive to environmental cues and have coordinated biological systems (Audesirk and Audesirk, 1985).
Orientation responses and feeding movements are complex and controlled by specific identifiable neurons in gastropod brains. Gastropods have a complex nervous system and are an increasingly important model system for neurological studies (Kohn, 1983).
Turbo undulatus posses a central nervous system comprising of five groups of paired ganglia associated with the buccal structures, various head organs such as the tentacles, the foot, the visceral mass and the mantle. Sensory receptors of Turbo undulatus include eyes, tentacles, osphradium and mantle papillae. The eyes are able to detect light (see experiment under the "movement " tab) and contain photoreceptors (Rupert, Fox and Barnes, 2003). The tentacles, anterior mantle papillae and osphradium are chemoreceptor and detect chemicals in the environment (Kohn, 1961; Rupert, Fox and Barnes, 2003). The tentacles may also be involved in mechanoreception (Rupert, Fox and Barnes, 2003). The osphradia resemble mammalian olfactory organs (Beechey, 2012).
Photoreception, chemoreception and mechonoreception serves to sense the environment and is involved in variety of interactions that occurs between Turbo undulatus and their environment. The experiment, under the "movement and locomotion" tab studies the various receptors that Turbo undulatus uses in their environment. |