Neural Control of Jellyfish Swimming: A Tale of Two Georges
Richard Satterlie, Univ. of North Carolina Wilmington
19 Mar 2010
Three of the four cnidarian classes have medusoid representatives in their life cycles. These groups show similarities in the overall mechanical aspects of medusoid locomotion. Yet, there is a distinct dichotomy in neuromuscular organization that underlies locomotory control that separates the hydrozoan jellyfish from the scyphozoan and cubozoan jellyfish. This dichotomy was recognized by George Romanes in the late 19th century, and his general observations still stand. I will present recent neurobiological data that highlight the differences in neuromuscular organization that underlie this basic dichotomy, but also provide information on the neuroethology of these radially-symmetrical animals . The talk will honor another George—George Mackie—who I consider to be the father of medusan neurobiology. But it also honors a third, and local George, George D. Grice, Jr. , whose research included work on zooplankton.