this study, using the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) of #2 fuel oil, we 
are mainly concerned with distance chemoreception of the antennules. 
The First purpose of these experiments is to determine the range of #2 fuel 
oil exposures that affect the feeding behavior of lobsters without causing 
neuromuscular disturbance. Since chemoreception provides an important input 
into their feeding behavior, we then apply neurophysiological techniques to 
measure the effects of oil exposure on chemoreceptors in animals, where 
sublethal behavioral abnormalities have been shown. This is the second goal of 
these experiments. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Flow-Through Oil Dosing System 
In order to measure actual exposure levels, a continuous flow-through oil 
dosing system is necessary. The flow-through system (Figure 10-1) consisted of 
two head tanks, one control and one experimental. The experimental head 
tank, 8’ x 11” x 8”, was fitted with three baffles to aid in the layering of the 
oil after mixing. Its inflow was 4,000 ml/min. Oil was introduced via a syringe 
pump at a fixed rate into the center of the fast jet of seawater, causing rapid 
emulsification. The overflow of the head tank was skimmed off into a 
collecting tank where the oil layer was siphoned off occasionally. From the 
head tank, the oil-water mixture entered six 100-liter tanks individually. 
The overflow from the individual tanks entered a holding tank where 
lobsters were stored for neurophysiological preparations on oil-exposed 
animals. The overflow from the collecting box and the holding tank entered an 
acrylic-fiber filter box, where oil was removed before the water entered the 
drain (Figure 10-1). The control head tank, 4’ x 11” x 8”, supplied four 
individual 100-liter tanks. Its inflow was 2,600 ml/min. Individual tanks, both 
experimental and control, had inflows ranging from 400-460 ml/min. Water 
quality — salinity, temperature, ammonia, pH and 0-> content — and flow rate 
to individual tanks were measured every other day. 
Behavior 
Two male and two female lobsters served as controls, three males and three 
females as experimental. From our holding facility, we chose lobsters which 
had molted within two to eight weeks of the start of the experiment, to avoid 
effects of pre-molt behavior during observation. The animals were measured for 
close size match, and put in individual tanks containing a glazed clay shelter 
and a pebble substrate. They were fed twice daily until all animals were feeding 
normally. Then a base line for feeding behavior was determined over a five-day 
period. During the whole experiment lobsters were observed daily in the early 
morning (7-9 am) and late afternoon (4-6 pm). One-minute behavior recordings 
were followed by the addition of food, which was lowered on a string from the 
right or left front corners, alternately. Apart from general behavior (about 25 
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