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Young convict cichlids use visual information to update olfactory homing cues
- Source :
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 63:443-449
- Publication Year :
- 2008
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2008.
-
Abstract
- In this study, we tested the tendency of young cichlids to orient towards their parents using chemical cues. Convict cichlids have biparental defence of their free-swimming young. If young become separated from their family they must rejoin their family within minutes to have any chance of survival. Here, we used a dichotomous Y-maze to test if displaced convict cichlid young can use chemical cues to orient to their family. First, we showed that young preferentially orient toward water taken from their home tank versus blank water taken from a tank that contained no fish. Second, we showed that young prefer home tank water to water from a tank containing another family of convict cichlids. In a third experiment, we placed young convict cichlids in a small aquarium inserted within a larger aquarium. The large aquarium contained either their parents or no fish. The small insert aquarium contained blank water from a tank that had never contained fish. After 20 min in the insert tank, young convict cichlids were placed in the Y-maze and given a choice between either their home tank water or water from the insert tank. Convict cichlids that did not see their parents during the 20-min conditioning period oriented strongly toward chemical cues of their home tank water. Young that saw their parents during the 20-min conditioning period oriented strongly toward the chemical cues of the insert tank. These data indicate that young convict cichlids use visual cues to learn and reset the smell of “home” in less than 20 min.
- Subjects :
- biology
Ecology
Homing (biology)
fungi
technology, industry, and agriculture
food and beverages
Convict
biology.organism_classification
Fishery
Cichlid
Animal ecology
Fish
Animal Science and Zoology
human activities
Sensory cue
Convict cichlid
Paternal care
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14320762 and 03405443
- Volume :
- 63
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........770215d9f1ee26eaf741f0464835bd6d