SIZE LIMITS IN ESCAPE LOCOMOTION OF CARRIDEAN SHRIMP

Abstract

Escape locomotion of the common dock shrimp, Pandalus danae Stimpson, is the result of a rapid flexion of the abdomen that lasts approximately 30 ms. The hydrodynamic forces that result from this motion lead to body accelerations in excess of 100ms−2 and body rotations of about 75°. We examined the mechanics and kinematics of this mode of locomotion with both experimental and theoretical approaches. Using a system of differential equations that rely on conservation of both linear and angular momenta, we develop predictions for body movements, thrust forces and muscle stresses associated with escape locomotion. The predicted movements of the body agree to within 10 % with data from high-speed ciné-photography for body translations and rotations. The thrust from rapid tail flexion is dominated by accelerational forces and by the force required to squeeze fluid out of the gap created by the cephalothorax and the abdomen at the end of tail flexion. This squeeze force overwhelms any propulsive drag forces that arise from the tail-flip. Using the theoretical analysis, we identify two additional features about unsteady, rotational aquatic locomotion. First, as either the relative length of the propulsive appendage increases or the absolute body size increases, rotational motions become disproportionately greater than translational motions, and escape performance decays. Second, if muscle stresses developed during escape cannot exceed the maximum isometric stress, there is a unique body length (6 cm) that maximizes the distance travelled during the escape event.