Cost-effective Approach for Assessing Chemosensory Response in Parhyale hawaiensis: A Time-to-Event Experiment v1

Understanding the impact of environmental contaminants on chemosensation is crucial for assessing the ecological fitness of aquatic organisms. Here, we present a comprehensive protocol for investigating the chemosensory responses of Parhyale hawaiensis to food cues following exposure to Phenanthrene (Phe), a model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). Using a time-to-event experimental design, we assess the organism's response time to fresh feed in a Y-maze setup under different exposure conditions. This protocol offers a simple approach for conducting cost-effective behavioural ecotoxicology and contributes to our understanding of the interactive effects of contaminants on aquatic organisms.