Tropical shrimp

Overfishing has seen an escalation to the point that many fisheries have been closed because of lack of profit (ludicello 1999). On the other hand, marine ferming causes eutrophication and pollution ofthe waters. In many tropical areas, shrimp farming is also deleterious to the mangrove forest, which has been destroyed to make space for the farms. The size of the problem is made clear by a ban in India and Honduras to shrimp farming along the coasts. 

Mangrove forests provides critical nursery habitat for various commercially important species of tropical fish and invertebrates, such as shrimp. These coastal wetlands also provide important habitat for a wide range of non-economic species of wildlife. 

The quality of life does not follow this order. Several of the countries have higher incomes per capita and life expectancies than the United States. Several of the countries that compete with the United States in trade discard less waste per person. The overconsumption that leads to so much waste has implications beyond the boundaries of the country in question. For example, the United States obtains chromium and platinum from South Africa, calcium fluoride from Greenland, and tungsten from China. The developed nations import beef, woods, bananas, cocoa, coffee, pineapples, shrimp, and other consumables, from tropical countries. The developed nations are partly responsible for any environmental degradation involved in the production of these crops. 

Stomatopods, also known as mantis shrimp, are malacostracan crustaceans that typically live in tropical or subtropical oceans, although a few temperate species are known. Mantis shrimp are typically between 2 and 30 cm in length. Their elongate bodies are typically flattened dorsoventrally. Hallmarks include specialized stalked eyes, tripartite antennules that are highly sensitive to a variety of odors, and raptorial appendages capable of very rapid strikes. 

Olfactory flicking seems to be matched to the animal s olfactory need. For instance, the tropical mantis shrimp G. falcatus becomes increasingly involved in sophisticated aggressive and reproductive encounters as it grows. It also hunts faster and more elusive prey. These complex social and foraging behavior patterns require rapid responses. Perhaps to accommodate the need for speed, antennule flicking velocity and frequency increase several fold with body size (Fig. 11.5a, Mead et al. 1999). Flicking reduces the boundary layer so that odors penetrate the array more quickly (Mead and Koehl 2000), and increases the rate at which chemical information is obtained. 

RIGGS A (2009) Shrimp Surveillance Certification Program (SSCP), online Power-point presentation. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii, available from www.ctahr.hawaii.edu (accessed September 2012). 

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