THE NATURE OF THE LATENT PERIOD IN THE PHOTIC RESPONSE OF MYA ARENARIA

The latent period in the response of Mya to illumination varies inversely as the duration of the exposure to which it is subjected. The reciprocal of the latent period, measuring the velocity of the process which underlies it, is a linear function of the exposure period. Since the duration of the exposure represents the amount of photochemical activity, it is concluded that the substances formed at that time act to catalyze a chemical reaction which determines the duration of the latent period. This explanation is in accord with the previous work on the photochemical reaction and with the effect of temperature on the latent period. As a result of the combined investigations there is presented a concrete hypothesis for the mechanism of photic reception in Mya.