Effects of eyestalk ablation on the concentration of taurine in various organs of the shore crab Carcinus maenas (L.) (Decapoda: Brachyura)

Abstract 1. 1. In the crab, destalking was without effect on the concentration of taurine in the hepatopancreas and the genital organs. Neurosecretion does not seem to be involved in regulation of taurine concentration there. 2. 2. In the heart, a difference in taurine concentration was noted in the controls, 35 μmol/g in the female and 50 μmol/g in the male. 3. 3. In the heart, destalking provokes an increase of taurine concentration in the female and a decrease in the male. 4. 4. The hypothesis that heart taurine concentration could be related to the activity of the crab and to its cardiac rhythm was discussed.