Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Sheryl Coombs, AdvisorRheotaxis is a robust, multisensory behavior with many potential benefits for fish and other aquatic animals, yet the influence of different fluvial conditions on rheotactic performance and its sensory basis is still poorly understood.Here, we examine the role that vision and the lateral line play in the rheotactic behavior of a stream-dwelling species (Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus) under both rectilinear and turbulent flow conditions.Turbulence enhanced overall rheotactic strength and lowered the flow speed at which rheotaxis was initiated; this effect did not depend on the availability of either visual or lateral line information.Compared to fish without access to visual information, fish with access to visual information exhibited increased levels of positional stability and as a result, increased levels of rheotactic accuracy.No disruption in rheotactic performance was found when the lateral line was disabled, suggesting that this sensory system is not necessary for either rheotaxis or turbulence detection under the conditions of this study.The author would like to thank: Sheryl Coombs for help with the all aspects of the design, execution, analysis, and write-up of the thesis; Joe Bak-Coleman for assistance with tracking software, statistics, experimental design, and editing the manuscript; Matt Kulpa for help with conducting experiments and editing the manuscript; Autumn Court for help with anatomical experiments; Derek Paley and Sachit Butail for contributions to the tracking software; Paul Webb and Paul Moore for their help with flow measurement; and Moira van Staaden and Paul Moore for their participation in the committee.Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Porter and Minette Elder, for always encouraging me push forward, and Julie Knechtges for her incredible support.
Author: John P. Elder
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W934636261