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Electric fish conduct electric duets in aquatic courtship, Cornell neurobiologists discover
June 21, 2007Cornell researchers have discovered that in the battle of the sexes, African electric fish couples not only use specific electrical signals to court but also engage in a sort of dueling "electric duet."
The study is the first to compare electrical and behavioral displays in breeding and nonbreeding Brienomyrus brachyistius, a type of mormyrid electric fish, which emit weak electric fields from a batterylike organ in their tails to sense their surroundings and communicate their species, sex and social status with other fish. It is also the first study to successfully sort signals in electric fish based on sex.
The research, which is the cover story in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, is authored by Carl D. Hopkins, Cornell professor of neurobiology and behavior, and Ryan Wong '05, who conducted the study as an undergraduate for his senior honors thesis and is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas in Austin.
"Our study provides strong evidence that the 'rasp' [a certain electric signal] is a male advertisement call during courtship in this species," said Wong, noting that the males also serenade females with lower frequency "creaks."
The researchers developed custom software that offers new techniques for separating and documenting electrical pulses based on sex. They video recorded four pair of mating mormyrids (a feat in itself, since the species rarely breeds successfully in captivity) and identified nine common motor displays and 11 specific pulse sequences common to courtship and mating.
"Knowing the electrical and motor patterns during courtship allows for further exploration of such topics as mate choice and neural basis of pattern generation in these fish," explained Hopkins, noting that the next step in the research will be to decode the fish transmissions and unravel their meaning.
The study was funded in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health.
Cornell University
"Our study provides strong evidence that the 'rasp' [a certain electric signal] is a male advertisement call during courtship in this species," said Wong, noting that the males also serenade females with lower frequency "creaks."
The researchers developed custom software that offers new techniques for separating and documenting electrical pulses based on sex. They video recorded four pair of mating mormyrids (a feat in itself, since the species rarely breeds successfully in captivity) and identified nine common motor displays and 11 specific pulse sequences common to courtship and mating.
"Knowing the electrical and motor patterns during courtship allows for further exploration of such topics as mate choice and neural basis of pattern generation in these fish," explained Hopkins, noting that the next step in the research will be to decode the fish transmissions and unravel their meaning.
The study was funded in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health.
Cornell University
Elephantnose fish 'see' with their chin
Originating in Central Africa, Peters' elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii), finds its bearings by means of weak electrical fields. Scientists from the University of Bonn have now been able to show how well this works.
Evolution in action? African fish could be providing rare example of forming two separate species, Cornell scientists speculate
Avoiding quicksand along the banks of the Ivindo River in Gabon, Cornell neurobiologists armed with oscilloscopes search for shapes and patterns of electricity created by fish in the water.
Convergent evolution of molecules in electric fish
Having a set of extra genes gave fish on separate continents the ability to evolve electric organs, report researchers from The University of Texas at Austin.
UF scientists trace origin of shark's electric sense
Sharks are known for their almost uncanny ability to detect electrical signals while hunting and navigating.
Nature press release for 5 April issue
[410701] LIFELINES: HOPE STEMS FOR A BROKEN HEART (pp701-705; N&V) Stem cells from mouse bone marrow can help repair muscle killed in heart attacks, Piero Anversa and his team at New York Medical College, New York, and colleagues, show in this week’s Nature. The results are likely to raise the already high profile of adult stem cells as a valuable source of treatments for disease. Bone marrow cells may be an ideal solution to the problem of replacing damaged hearts: they give rise to both heart muscle and blood vessels, can be harvested from the patient to prevent rejection, and adult stem cells avoid the ethical minefield of embryonic stem-cell use. Anversa thinks that stem-cell thera
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