Crayfish Dissection Lab Biology 11

Kate Fairley May 23 r d 2013 Block 4

Purpose: To observe and examine the anatomy of a crayfish Procedure:

1. Examine the external features of the crayfish. 2. Determine if the crayfish is male or female. 3. Remove then draw in a chart the following appendages from one side of the crayfish: antenna, antennule, mandible, jawfoot (maxilliped,) cheliped, walking leg, swimmeret, uropod and telson. Then in the same chart, name and describe the function of each appendage. 4. Cut the dorsal side of the crayfishs carapace from posterior to anterior then open it and identify the gills, heart, digestive glands, stomach and reproductive organs. 5. Cut open the stomach and observe the internal structures. 6. Remove one of the compound eyes and look at it under a dissecting microscope then sketch it.

Materials:
Dissection tray Scissors Probe

Tweezers Crayfish Dissecting microscope

Discussion:
1. a. A crayfishs digestive system consists of many parts. First, the food goes into the mouth and is crushed by the mandibles. From there, it goes into the stomach where chitinous teeth that line the stomach walls grind it down even further. The finest food particles are sent to the digestive gland for nutrient absorption. The mid-sized food particles are sent to the intestine where the indigested particles eventually come out the anus. b. The crayfish has such a short intestine because the vast majority of the nutrient absorption occurs in the digestive gland and therefore, less needs to occur in the

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intestine. Also, because crayfish eat mostly animal matter, it takes less time to grind up and absorb the nutrients from their food. a. The gills of a crayfish are located on each of its walking legs. b. They are located on the legs because the legs move and in order to get fresh water near their gills so that they can breathe, they must be moving. Crayfish have adapted to have eyestalks because with an eyestalk, one can see a wider angle, making it easier to see predators and prey. a. The green gland acts as both a kidney and a bladder for the crayfish. It regulates the amount of salt and water in the blood and temporarily stores this waste. b. The green gland is located near the antennae because if it were located at the posterior end of the animal, the products that it excretes would be pushed into the creatures gills by the current. a. Crayfish are adapted to fresh water rather than marine habitats because they have green glands that control the amount of salt in their blood stream. b. Crayfish are adapted to fresh water rather than land habitats because they have gills rather than lungs. Crayfish antennae are used to sense: taste, touch and balance. All crustaceans have two pairs of antennae, chewing mouthparts, legs with claws, an exoskeleton and a segmented body.

Conclusion:
Crayfish have a digestive gland when they already have an intestine because the digestive gland secretes enzymes to further break down the food while the intestine does not. The crayfish had five pairs of legs but only four pairs that were used for walking. It also had four antennae, two antennules and two antennae. Our crayfish was male. The gills in the crayfish were attached to the legs. The crayfish had an open circulatory system; that means that in some places, the blood was allowed to pool around the organs. The stomach of the crayfish was lined with chitinous teeth that were used to grind up and sort the food in the stomach.