Some aspects of intraspecific communication and of the role of vision in the control and modulation of locomotor behavior of fish

Abstract

Characteristics of locomotor behavior of goldfish (Carassius auratus) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were monitored automatically and the response to sensory cues provided by conspecifics analyzed. Goldfish were attracted to free-swimming conspecifics and oriented to them kllnoklnetlcally by decreasing their mean angle size of turns and Increasing both their turning frequency and mean step length between turns. These locomotor changes were stimulus bound. Although the responses were mediated visually, blinded goldfish, which were not overtly attracted, nevertheless oriented orthoklnetically to non-visual cues from the conspeclflc. This intraspecific communication was not attributable to the novelty provided by the Introduction of the conspeclflc. Simulation of the conspeclfic by models demonstrated that oval and horizontal rectangular shapes of the same area and their size interactions elicited significant attraction whereas square and vertical rectangular shapes of the same area did not. Increasing speeds and/or size of the model tended to bring about stronger attraction. ...