Revealing sound-induced motion patterns in fish hearing structures in 4D: a standing wave tube-like setup designed for high-resolution time-resolved tomography

Modern bony fishes possess a high morphological diversity in their auditory structures and auditory capabilities. Yet, how auditory structures such as the otoliths in the inner ears and the swim bladder work together remains elusive. Gathering experimental evidence on the in situ motion of fish auditory structures while avoiding artifacts caused by surgical exposure of the structures has been challenging for decades. Synchrotron radiation-based tomography with high spatio-temporal resolution allows the study of morphofunctional issues non-invasively in an unprecedented way. We therefore aimed to develop an approach that characterizes the moving structures in 4D (=three spatial dimensions+time). We designed a miniature standing wave tube-like setup to meet both the requirements of tomography and those of tank acoustics. With this new setup, we successfully visualized the motion of isolated otoliths and the auditory structures in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and glass catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus).
Summary: To characterize the sound-induced motion of fish auditory structures in 4D, we developed a tomography-compatible standing wave tube-like setup and thereby demonstrated the previously hypothesized rotational motion of otophysan sagittae.