Abstract
ABSTRACT Chemical stimulation can evoke complex behaviour patterns in sea anemones. In pre-feeding behaviour a diffusible component of food causes the oral disc to expand and the column to extend and bend from side to side. These movements may increase the chance of catching nearby food (Pollock, 1883). The response is coordinated by the ectodermal slow conduction system (SSI). In Urticina eques, food extracts that excite the pre-feeding response evoke a low-frequency series of SSI pulses; and electrical stimulation of the SSI, in the absence of food, causes pre-feeding movements (McFarlane, 1970). The SSI, the SS2 (an endodermal slow system) and a through-conducting nerve net (TCNN) are the three known conducting systems that appear to coordinate sea anemone behaviour (McFarlane, 1982). Other conducting systems have been proposed (e.g. Lawn & Ross, 1982) but not confirmed.
Published Version
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