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From crawfish to shark tank : Montpelier native studies the ... Barre Montpelier Times Argus, VT - Aug 4, 2008 By Stefan Hard Times Argus Staff When she was a child, Lindsay Graff used to bring home harmless critters like crawfish and turtles after playing along the ... Roundup: Taste of San Pedro; Long Beach Crawfish Festival ... Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 1, 2008 On Saturday, go eat some Louisiana-style crawfish at the Long Beach Crawfish Festival. Zydeco and New Orleans tunes will be playing too. ... Jamaica's Rio Grande being poisoned Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 3, 2008 Plentiful shrimp, crawfish and striped mullets were culled with spears or wooden fishing pots. Today the mighty river is being contaminated by people who ... Food for the Soul and Body The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR - If you're planning on attending this weekend's Crawfish Feed & Block Party - organized by Po' Shines Cafe De La Soul, - it's from 6 - 10 pm on Friday, ... TheTimes Curtis Salgado makes a ?Clean Getaway? for crawfish fest TheTimes, OR - Jul 31, 2008 Salgado is the headline performer for the 58th Annual Tualatin Crawfish Festival. He will perform Saturday, Aug. 9, at Tualatin Community Park with his show ... LAist Bayou Feast Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA - Aug 3, 2008 By Jessica Terrell, Staff Writer LONG BEACH - Braving long lines, they came for the crawfish but stayed for the music, the drinking, the dancing, ... Get Out: Saturday LAist all 2 news articles » Zapata revolts Arkansas Times, AR - Aug 3, 2008 The crawfish enchiladas were excellent, with plenty of crawfish. The dish came with a basic tortilla soup ? good, but nothing to write home about ? and ... Poachers Worry Fishermen "Predict Slow Season" The Bahama Journal, Bahamas - Aug 2, 2008 By Kendea Jones Some local fishermen are pleading with the government to take a handle on illegal poaching as crawfish season opens, and they???re ... Update: North Coos, North Medford post Saturday wins Coos Bay World, OR - Aug 2, 2008 Ashland faces Jake?s Crawfish at 3 pm today in an elimination game. Bradey Shipley combined with Chris Bradshaw on a one-hitter and also hit a home run to ... Long season helps team come together Coos Bay World Weidman?s perfect game lifts North Coos Coos Bay World Stadium spruced up for tournament Coos Bay World all 4 news articles » Area 4 South teams post victories Coos Bay World, OR - Aug 2, 2008 The Grants Pass Miners shut out Pendleton 2-0, while Ashland beat Roseburg Pepsi 11-6 and North Medford topped Jake?s Crawfish 14-4 in six innings. ... Hornbrook produces in Mavs state tourney win Mail Tribune Mavericks stay undefeated at state tourney Mail Tribune all 3 news articles »

Crayfish Do Battle

Caption: Fighting crayfish

Credit: Anthony O'Toole

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Are all male's liars and cheaters? Yes -- if they're crayfish!

Intimidation and threats are common throughout society, whether it’s in the school playground, sporting arena or boardroom. Threatening behaviour is equally widespread among non-human animals. Individuals signal their superior strength to competitors to obtain food, resolve territorial disputes and acquire mates. Current theory insists that signals of strength should be honest. Surprisingly researchers have found that dishonest signals are used routinely during dominance disputes by male Australian crayfish. This work will be presented by Dr Robbie Wilson (University of Queensland) on Monday 2nd April at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting in Glasgow.

Crayfish are a naturally aggressive species and will squabble over almost anything! Male crayfish possess enlarged front claws that they use to intimidate and fight with their competitors. An international team of researchers, led by Robbie Wilson from the University of Queensland, wanted to understand determinants of social dominance in these aggressive animals. The scientists measured the size and strength of claws of both male and female crayfish, and then monitored how they performed in competitive bouts. They found crayfish use claw size to determine the winners of the most aggressive disputes. For female crayfish the size of the claw was an honest indication of how strong they were. However, claw size of males was not a good indicator of their strength. Males were routinely bluffing their opponents with weak claws to achieve dominance. They used claws more for intimidation than actual strength.

“Male crayfish lie and cheat their way to the top, whilst females appear to be honest displayers of their own strength”, Robbie Wilson said. “This is important work showing that dishonesty is commonly used by animals during fights”, said Wilson. “We already knew humans often use dishonesty during disputes, but our results suggest cheating may play a more important role in animal communication than previously imagined.”