Skeels, S., von der Emde, G. and Burt de Perera, T. (2023). Mormyrid fish as fashions for investigating sensory-motor integration: A behavioural perspective. Journal of Zoology, vol. 319, pp. 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13046
Weakly electrical fish epitomise what’s extraordinary concerning the pure world. They possess a novel sense which is alien to us. These fish generate and detect low voltage electrical fields which they use to navigate, forage, and talk of their dimly lit, watery environments. There are two lineages which have advanced this superb means independently: the Gymnotiformes from the Neotropics and the Mormyriformes from Africa. There are various lots of of species of weakly electrical fish, they usually exhibit a various vary of morphologies, electrical signalling patterns, feeding behaviours, and ranges of sociality. Because the Fifties, nice steps have been made in understanding electrosensing in these fish. Weakly electrical fish have now grow to be vital fashions within the life sciences, contributing to the fields of neuroscience, evolution and growth, physiology, and behavior, to call however a couple of. Though this sense will be difficult to review as we ourselves don’t expertise the world on this approach, we will rigorously design experiments which allow us to interrogate this sense and assist us perceive the perceptual talents of those charismatic animals.
I’ve labored with weakly electrical fish for round seven years on the College of Oxford within the UK. I’m an experimental biologist by coaching, with an curiosity in understanding how these animals coordinate the actions of their sensory and motor techniques to optimise their behaviour. Weakly electrical fish are nice candidates for finding out this kind of interplay, as they’ve a well-characterised electrosensory system and present behaviours that appear to be related to sensing. Within the lab, it’s attainable to not solely file the behaviour of those fish while sensing, however it’s also possible to file the electrical alerts generated by them. To do that, I put electrodes within the tank with the freely behaving animal. The electrodes choose up the electrical alerts that are amplified after which despatched to a pc for evaluation. These alerts will be visualised on the pc with specialised software program. I can even connect a speaker to the amplifier which permits me to acquire an audio illustration of the electrical area. Since my fish produce discrete electrical pulses, the sound may very well be in comparison with that of a typewriter! These visible and audio representations of the electrical alerts assist me to get a way of this distinctive sensory system with which I’ve no first-hand expertise.
I primarily research sensory-motor interactions within the Peter’s elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii). These fish are characterised by their elongated chin appendage (generally known as the Schnauzenorgan) which is usually mistaken for a trunk- therefore the identify! The Schnauzenorgan performs an vital half in sensing, significantly for locating invertebrate prey hidden beneath substrate. These fish is usually a problem to maintain within the laboratory as they’re delicate to modifications of their surroundings. Nevertheless, they’re extremely inquisitive with glorious recollections, making them well-suited for behavioural experiments that require coaching. I take advantage of these types of experiments to analyze how their very own physique actions can alter the electrosensory panorama which they expertise.
I design experiments the place I alter the sensory enter that the animal receives after which file their motor output (behaviour). I can then make inferences on how these streams of knowledge are processed and built-in collectively. To get to the guts of this drawback, I take advantage of operant conditioning to coach fish to finish a puzzle (normally within the type of an object recognition activity), the place people are rewarded for making the best alternative and are mildly punished for making an incorrect alternative. This will increase their behaviour that yields a optimistic response and reduces their behaviour that leads to a destructive end result. I take advantage of meals (bloodworm) as a reward since these fish (like plenty of animals) are extremely meals motivated! When a person makes a mistake, I present a light punishment, normally within the type of a delicate faucet on the tank glass adopted by a shoo to the beginning space. I’m very cautious when choosing a light punishment to decide on one thing aversive for the fish however not sufficient to inflict stress. You will need to restrict stress as a lot as attainable as this may have a destructive influence on well-being and the behaviours you are attempting to file.
Animal coaching will be very time consuming, however additionally it is very rewarding! One among my favorite components of doing these types of experiments is seeing the second when a person lastly learns the duty and might full it efficiently and constantly. It makes all of the laborious work value it! As soon as I’m assured the fish have realized the duty, I can change one of many parameters of the duty and check if this has an influence on their behaviour. Throughout these exams, I’m cautious to not reward or punish, as I are not looking for the fish to bear additional studying and for this to affect their behaviour. I would like to have the ability to attribute any modifications in behaviour to the parameter modified and to not studying. It’s inconceivable to take away all different variables that may affect the fish’s behaviour, however controls are included to restrict these as a lot as attainable. Trials the place rewards and delicate punishment are given will be interspliced with testing to make sure motivation stays excessive and efficiency is maintained. By means of these experiments I’ve realized the significance of a person’s personal actions in facilitating extraction of cues from the surroundings. Nevertheless, these findings usually are not solely related to understanding electrosensing in these fish, however they’ve applicability for understanding the behaviour of different animals with totally different senses who use motion to reinforce notion, since among the core ideas are the identical. Once more, this highlights how finding out weakly electrical fish can have a far-reaching influence.
In sum, I strongly advocate using paradigms just like the one described above for serving to to know elementary questions in behaviour (from operate to mechanism). They benefit from being non-invasive, and up to date developments in know-how now imply that we will file behaviours at very excessive decision and analyse them with extra refined strategies. This implies we will extract extra significant data from the info, permitting for higher interpretations of various behaviours. Behavioural work offers an vital and important framework from which different approaches can construct off on (e.g. mathematical modelling). As such, working within the area of animal behaviour is an thrilling place, because it lends itself to collaboration with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. I can’t wait to see the place the sphere goes subsequent, and what different issues we will study from these actually outstanding fish!
Sarah Skeels (Postdoctoral researcher)
