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Are the Swimming Kinematics of Blind Cavefish Adapted for Active Flow-sensing?

Tan, Delfinn Sweimay
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1276198298

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Biological Sciences.
When visual cues are poor or unavailable, animals often rely on a form of active sensing in which they produce their own signal energy to probe various features of the environment (e.g. echolocation by bats). In a different and less-understood form of active sensing, blind cavefish use their burst and coast swimming motions to generate flow signals that can be detected by the lateral line. The coast phase of the swimming cycle produces a relatively stable, dipole-like flow signal that is distorted when fish swim by nearby obstacles. In this study, we test the hypotheses that (a) blind cavefish have evolved behavioral specializations for active flow-sensing compared to their nearest sighted relatives (a morph of the same species) and (b) flow signal production is regulated by lateral line sensory feedback. We compared the swimming kinematics of blind and sighted morphs in response to a novel, dark environment - both before (T1) and after (T2) a 24-hr familiarization period and with and without a functional lateral line. There were two major findings of this study. The first was that the majority of burst-coast kinematic parameters exhibited no significant differences as a function of morph, familiarity with environment or lateral line functionality. Noteable exceptions included an increase in coast duration, coupled with a decline in swim cycle frequency after T2 for both morphs. The second major finding was that blind morphs exhibited a significantly higher incidence of swim cycles that formed part of a straight swimming trajectory. Both lateral line deprivation and familiarization in the arena led to significant declines in this number for blind, but not sighted morphs. Taken together, these results suggest that both morphs have inherited common neuroethological strategies for regulating burst-coast swimming kinematics, but that blind morphs differ significantly from sighted morphs in their swimming trajectories and in lateral line-enabled abilities to link swim cycles into sequences that form straight trajectories. Differences in swim cycle sequences can best be understood in terms of the intermittent and short-range challenges of active flow-sensing by blind cavefish and suggest that these fish have evolved behavioral strategies for coping with these challenges.
Sheryl Coombs, Dr (Advisor)
Verner Bingman, Dr (Committee Member)
Moira van Staaden, Dr (Committee Member)
61 p.
Biology; Zoology
blind cavefish; swimming kinematics; behavior

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tan, D. S. (2010). Are the Swimming Kinematics of Blind Cavefish Adapted for Active Flow-sensing? [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1276198298

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tan, Delfinn. Are the Swimming Kinematics of Blind Cavefish Adapted for Active Flow-sensing? 2010. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1276198298.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tan, Delfinn. "Are the Swimming Kinematics of Blind Cavefish Adapted for Active Flow-sensing?" Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1276198298

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1276198298
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.