BEHAVIORAL ANALYSES OF KILLIFISH EXPOSED TO WEIGHTLESSNESS IN APOLLO-SOYUZ TEST PROJECT

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 48 (8), 712-717
Abstract
Two groups of killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, which were flown aboard Apollo-Soyuz, were subjected to postflight behavioral testing. The 1st group examined consisted of a graded series of embryos representing key developmental stages at orbital insertion (32 h, 66 h, and 128 h stages; pre-liftoff fertilization times). The tests revealed that the young adults from the flight 32 h stage had a significantly decreased positive geotaxis and increased negative phototaxis when compared with ground controls. There was a great sensitization of the least-developed flight stage to post-hatching environmental influences. The 2nd group consisted of 21 day old juveniles which were subjected to light orientation tests soon after recovery. No significant differences were detected.