Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.

The burrow morphology of endobenthic organisms reflects their subsurface ecology. In this study, we observed the three-dimensional development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus in a tank using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. CT scanning was performed at 10-30...

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Main Authors: Miyu Umehara, Koji Seike, Seishiro Furuyama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273055&type=printable
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author Miyu Umehara
Koji Seike
Seishiro Furuyama
author_facet Miyu Umehara
Koji Seike
Seishiro Furuyama
author_sort Miyu Umehara
collection DOAJ
description The burrow morphology of endobenthic organisms reflects their subsurface ecology. In this study, we observed the three-dimensional development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus in a tank using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. CT scanning was performed at 10-30 min intervals immediately after the start of burrow construction. The three-dimensional morphology (surface area, volume, depth, length, and diameter) of burrows at each observation time was imaged and measured. In addition, the rate of increase of each parameter was calculated. Surface area, volume, length, and depth rapidly increased immediately after the start of the experiment in all burrows. Subsequently, there was a reduction in the rate of increase at 40 min after the start of excavation for burrow depth, at 75 min for length, and at 90 min for surface area and volume. Although there were large differences in burrow diameter among the burrows immediately after the start of the experiment, all burrows reached nearly identical diameters after 90 min. Changes in burrow morphology were not observed in most of the burrows more than 210 min after the start of the experiment, meaning that A. bellulus can create burrows that are sufficient for survival within this time period. The use of CT scans in this study clarified the developmental process of the three-dimensional structure of A. bellulus burrows and is applicable to various burrow-producing organisms. Our results provide new insights into the development of burrow structures.
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spelling doaj-art-20eaeff2edd84c62942a3d14f1dab1a32025-08-20T03:01:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01178e027305510.1371/journal.pone.0273055Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.Miyu UmeharaKoji SeikeSeishiro FuruyamaThe burrow morphology of endobenthic organisms reflects their subsurface ecology. In this study, we observed the three-dimensional development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus in a tank using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. CT scanning was performed at 10-30 min intervals immediately after the start of burrow construction. The three-dimensional morphology (surface area, volume, depth, length, and diameter) of burrows at each observation time was imaged and measured. In addition, the rate of increase of each parameter was calculated. Surface area, volume, length, and depth rapidly increased immediately after the start of the experiment in all burrows. Subsequently, there was a reduction in the rate of increase at 40 min after the start of excavation for burrow depth, at 75 min for length, and at 90 min for surface area and volume. Although there were large differences in burrow diameter among the burrows immediately after the start of the experiment, all burrows reached nearly identical diameters after 90 min. Changes in burrow morphology were not observed in most of the burrows more than 210 min after the start of the experiment, meaning that A. bellulus can create burrows that are sufficient for survival within this time period. The use of CT scans in this study clarified the developmental process of the three-dimensional structure of A. bellulus burrows and is applicable to various burrow-producing organisms. Our results provide new insights into the development of burrow structures.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273055&type=printable
spellingShingle Miyu Umehara
Koji Seike
Seishiro Furuyama
Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
PLoS ONE
title Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
title_full Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
title_fullStr Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
title_full_unstemmed Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
title_short Repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp Alpheus bellulus.
title_sort repeated computed tomography scanning reveals morphological development of burrows produced by the tiger pistol shrimp alpheus bellulus
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273055&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT miyuumehara repeatedcomputedtomographyscanningrevealsmorphologicaldevelopmentofburrowsproducedbythetigerpistolshrimpalpheusbellulus
AT kojiseike repeatedcomputedtomographyscanningrevealsmorphologicaldevelopmentofburrowsproducedbythetigerpistolshrimpalpheusbellulus
AT seishirofuruyama repeatedcomputedtomographyscanningrevealsmorphologicaldevelopmentofburrowsproducedbythetigerpistolshrimpalpheusbellulus