concept

electric fish

Also known as: electric fishes

Facts (37)

Sources

Comparable Ages for the Independent Origins of Electrogenesis in ... journals.plos.org PLOS ONE 21 facts

referenceW.G.R. Crampton, N.R. Lovejoy, and J.C. Waddell published 'Reproductive character displacement and signal ontogeny in a sympatric assemblage of electric fish' in Evolution in 2011, examining signal development and reproductive isolation.

referenceCarl D. Hopkins and Harold H. Bass published 'Temporal coding of species recognition signals in an electric fish' in Science in 1981, detailing how electric fish use temporal coding for species recognition.

referenceHeiligenberg W (1974) studied electrolocation and jamming avoidance in the electric fish Hypopygus (Rhamphichthyidae, Gymnotoidei), which uses pulse-type discharges.

referenceHarold H. Zakon published 'Insight into the mechanisms of neuronal processing from electric fish' in Current Opinion in Neurobiology in 2003, reviewing how electric fish contribute to the understanding of neuronal processing.

referenceZakon HH, Lu Y, Zwickl DJ, and Hillis DM (2006) published research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) titled 'Sodium channel genes and the evolution of diversity in communication signals of electric fishes: Convergent molecular evolution,' which discusses the molecular evolution of communication signals in electric fishes.

referenceBullock TH, Behrend K, and Heiligenberg W (1975) compared jamming avoidance responses in gymnotid and gymnarchid electric fish, identifying this as a case of convergent evolution of behavior and its sensory basis.

referenceBell CC (1981) described an efference copy mechanism that is modified by reafferent input in electric fish.

referenceM.E. Arnegard, S.M. Bogdanowicz, and C.D. Hopkins published 'Multiple cases of striking genetic similarity between alternate electric fish signal morphs in sympatry' in Evolution in 2005, documenting genetic similarities between different signal morphs.

referenceBell CC (1982) identified properties of a modifiable efference copy in electric fish.

referenceGary J. Rose published 'Insights into neural mechanisms and evolution of behaviour from electric fish' in Nature Reviews Neuroscience in 2004, discussing how electric fish provide models for understanding neural mechanisms and behavior.

claimMormyroids and gymnotiforms, with the exception of Electrophorus electricus, are classified as "weakly" electric fishes because the external potentials they produce are typically imperceptible to humans without amplification.

claimRibbon-fin propulsion may provide enhanced maneuverability with reduced turbulence for electric fish when they are electrolocating and approaching prey organisms.

claimStoddard proposed that adaptations involving electrogenesis and electroreception in electric fish serve the purpose of avoiding predation by other electroreceptive species.

referenceM.E. Arnegard, P.B. McIntyre, L.J. Harmon, M.L. Zelditch, W.G.R. Crampton, et al. published 'Sexual signal evolution outpaces ecological divergence during electric fish species radiation' in The American Naturalist in 2010, finding that sexual signals evolve faster than ecological traits in electric fish.

claimThe most recent common ancestor of the Mormyroidea and Gymnotiformes was a non-electrogenic basal teleost that lived more than 85 million years before the origin of these electric fish lineages.

referenceB.A. Carlson, S.M. Hasan, M. Hollmann, D.B. Miller, L.J. Harmon, et al. published 'Brain evolution triggers increased diversification of electric fishes' in Science in 2011, asserting that brain evolution is a driver for the diversification of electric fish species.

referenceWalter Heiligenberg published 'Principles of electrolocation and jamming avoidance in electric fish: a neuroethological approach' in 1977, which discusses the neuroethology of electric fish.

claimHeiligenberg suggested that the elongate body form of certain electric fish, with the electric organ located far from the head and trunk, is an adaptation for extending the effective distance of active electrolocation.

measurementThe researchers obtained 17 complete or nearly complete mitochondrial DNA sequences (mt-seqs) of African and South American electric fishes for the study.

claimModern extant species of electric fish have convergently evolved cerebellum-like neural circuitry in the hindbrain that is capable of learning to cancel the amplitude modulations of electric organ discharge caused by tail movements.

claimHopkins suggested that extending the length of the tail in electric fish, where the electric organ is located, increases the voltage of the electric organ discharge and the active space of electric signaling, which is particularly important in water with reduced conductivity.

Editorial: Recent Advances in Electroreception and Electrogeneration frontiersin.org Frontiers 12 facts

claimPouso et al. reported that distinct classes of vasotocin neurons within the pre-optic area of electric fish are preferentially activated by social stimuli in courting males, which correlates with the production of electric courtship signals and courtship-related locomotor activity.

claimElectric fish have contributed to key discoveries in cholinergic transmission and the development of modern electrophysiology, as noted by Wu in 1984.

referenceMetzen reviews how natural electro-communication stimuli are processed across successive brain areas to generate perception and behavioral responses in electric fish.

claimBursts, defined as packets of action potentials followed by quiescence, reliably encode electro-communication stimuli that occur during agonistic encounters in electric fish, as shown by Marsat et al. (2009).

claimThe study of electric fish and the mystery surrounding them motivated research into electricity and was instrumental in the emergence of electrophysiology, according to C. H. Wu in a 1984 American Scientist article.

referenceThe editorial issue contains 11 articles, consisting of 3 reviews and 8 original research papers, covering topics such as the effects of hormonal levels and natural environment on electrosensory behaviors, and how electric fish brains process natural stimuli.

claimElectric fish mitigate jamming signals by altering their electric organ discharge (EOD) characteristics to shift the frequency content of the jamming signal away from other electrosensory stimuli they need to detect, as established by Heiligenberg (1991).

claimYu et al. found that the contrast of electrosensory stimuli experienced by electric fish during social interactions depends significantly on the relative distance and orientation between the animals.

claimWhen two electric fish are in close proximity, interference between their electric fields creates a jamming signal that hinders the animal's ability to electrolocate relevant stimuli like prey or object boundaries, as described by Ramcharitar et al. (2005).

claimMarquez and Chacron investigated the effects of serotonergic neuromodulation on sensory processing in electric fish.

referenceFukutomi and Carlson provided a historical review of how mormyrid weakly electric fish contribute to understanding the function of the corollary discharge in distinguishing sensory consequences of self-generated versus externally generated stimuli.

claimThe jamming avoidance response in electric fish has been studied for over 40 years, as documented by Heiligenberg in 1991 and Zakon et al. in 2002.

Electroreception and electrogenesis - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia 3 facts

claimElectric fish generate fields either in brief pulses, as seen in elephantfishes, or as a continuous wave, as seen in knifefishes.

claimElectric fish use electric discharges to locate prey, and some species, such as the electric eel, use stronger electric discharges to stun prey.

claimElectric fish generate electric fields using an electric organ, which is a modified muscle located in the tail.

[PDF] The ecology of electricity and electroreception research-information.bris.ac.uk University of Bristol 1 fact

claimElectrogenesis, defined as the biological production of an electric field, is performed by modified muscle and nerve tissues in both strongly and weakly electric fish.