D. Punzalan et al., Discrimination of conspecific-built chimneys from human-built ones by the burrowing crayfish, Fallicambarus fodiens (Decapoda, Cambaridae), INVERTEBR B, 120(1), 2001, pp. 58-66
The vast majority of tested juvenile crayfish of Fallicambarus fodiens cons
istently preferred conspecific-built mud chimneys over similar-looking huma
n-built chimneys. When the chimneys were surrounded by transparent acetate
sheets, the crayfish no longer discriminated between conspecific-built and
human-built chimneys. This suggests that visual cues were not important in
allowing the crayfish to discriminate between the two chimney types. In the
absence of chimneys, significantly more crayfish showed an initial prefere
nce for mud saturated with water that had contained conspecifics, over simi
lar mud saturated with distilled water. This indicates that chemical cues p
lay a role in allowing these crayfish to discriminate between the conspecif
ic-conditioned mud and the control wet mud. The preference of F. fodiens in
dividuals for conspecific-built chimneys appears to be based, at least in p
art, on chemical cues, possibly in addition to tactile cues.