Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Homing in rocky intertidal fish. Are Lipophrys pholis L. able to perform true navigation?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Animal Cognition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although navigation is common in many animals, only a few perform true navigation, meaning that they have the ability to return to a given place by relying on indirect cues obtained at the release site (i.e., by relying on information from a “map and compass” mechanism). The common intertidal fish, Lipophrys pholis, is thought to have homing abilities through a mechanism that primarily makes use of familiar landmarks (i.e., piloting). Anecdotal reports that individuals return to their home pools after release at unfamiliar sites suggest that L. pholis might use cues collected at the release site to find their way back (i.e., they might use map and compass information). Using a completely artificial setup, we tested the homing abilities of L. pholis as a function of age, sex, and familiarity with the release site. The findings showed that motivation for homing is present only in the adult phase and is independent of sex and/or familiarity with the release site. Moreover, adults released at a completely unfamiliar place oriented themselves in a direction roughly similar to that of their home pools. The fact that L. pholis were tested in a complete artificial environment means that hydrodynamic cues can be excluded as playing a role in this process and restricts the candidate options (e.g., magnetic cues). The ability to perform navigation based on a “map and compass” mechanism raises many interesting questions about the learning process, once these individuals have restricted home ranges during their lives. In vertebrate navigation, the cues used during the navigation process are a question of debate, and L. pholis offers an outstanding model to test hypotheses and ultimately provide answers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almada V, Dores J, Pinheiro A, Santos RS (1983) Contribuição para o estudo do comportamento de Coryphoblennius galerita (L.) (Pisces: Blenniidae). Mem Mus Mar Ser Zool 2:1–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Almada VC, Barata E, Gonçalves EJ, Oliveira R (1990a) On the breeding season of Lipophrys pholis (Pisces: Blenniidae) at Arrábida, Portugal. J Mar Biol Assess UK 70:913–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almada VC, Oliveira R, Barata E, Gonçalves EJ, Rito A (1990b) Field observations on the behaviour of the breeding males of Lipophrys pholis (Pisces: Blenniidae). Portugaliae Zoologica 1:27–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Almada VC, Gonçalves EJ, Oliveira RF, Barata EN (1992) Some features of the territories in the breeding males of the intertidal blenny Lipophrys pholis (Pisces: Blenniidae). J Mar Biol Assoc UK 72:187–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alyan SH (1996) Evidence for resetting the directional component of path integration in the house mouse (Mus musculus). Ethology 102:629–638

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arondson IR (1951) Orientation and jumping behavior in the gobiid fish Bathygobius soporator. Amer Mus Novit 1480:1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Batschelet E (1981) Circular statistics in biology. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt de Perera T, Guilford TC (2008) Rapid learning of shelter position in an intertidal fish, the shanny Lipophrys pholis L. J Fish Biol 72:1386–1392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collett TS, Graham P (2004) Animal navigation: path integration, visual landmarks and cognitive maps. Curr Biol 14:R475–R477

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dittman AH, Quinn TP (1996) Homing in Pacific salmon: mechanisms and ecological basis. J Exp Biol 199:83–91

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodd J, Gibson RN, Hughes RN (2000) Use of cues by Lipophrys pholis L. (Teleostei, Blenniidae) in learning the position of a refuge. Behav Process 49:69–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etienne AS, Maurer R, Berlie J, Georgakopoulos J, Reverdin B, Rowe T, Séguinot V (1998) Navigation through vector addition. Nature 396:161–164

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Etienne AS, Maurer R, Boulens V, Levy A, Rowe T (2004) Resetting the path integrator: a basic condition for route-based navigation. J Exp Biol 207:1491–1508

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faria C, Almada V (2006) Patterns of spatial distribution and behaviour of fish on a rocky intertidal platform at high tide. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 316:155–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira F, Santos MM, Reis-Henriques MA, Vieira NM, Monteiro NM (2010) Sexing blennies using genital papilla morphology or ano-genital distance. J Fish Biol 77:1432–1438

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson RN (1967) Studies on the movements of littoral fish. J Anim Ecol 36:215–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson RN (1968) The agonistic behavior of juvenile Blennius pholis L. (Teleostei). Behaviour 30:192–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green JM (1971) High tide movements and homing behavior of the tidepool sculpin Oligocottus maculosus. J Fish Res Board Can 28:383–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green JM, Wroblewski JS (2000) Movement patterns of Atlantic cod in Gilbert Bay, Labrador: evidence for bay residency and spawning site fidelity. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 80:1077–1085

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin DR (1952) Bird navigation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 27:359–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagstrum JT (2000) Infrasound and the avian navigational map. J Exp Biol 203:1103–1111

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jorge PE (2011) Odors in the context of animal navigation. In: Weiss LE, Atwood JM (eds) The biology of odors. Nova Science Publishers Inc, New York, pp 207–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorge PE, Marques AE, Phillips JB (2009) Activational rather than navigational effects of odors on young pigeons homing. Curr Biol 19:650–654

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jorge PE, Marques PAM, Phillips JB (2010) Activational effects of odours on avian navigation. Proc R Soc B 277:45–49

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer G (1959) Recent experiments on bird orientation. Ibis 101:399–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann KJ (1991) Magnetic orientation by hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). J Exp Biol 155:37–49

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann KJ, Luschi P, Hays CG (2008a) Goal navigation and island-finding in sea turtles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 356:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann KJ, Putman NF, Lohmann CMF (2008b) Geomagnetic imprinting: a unifying hypothesis of long-distance natal homing in salmon and sea turtles. Proc Natl Acad Sci 105:19096–19101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luschi P, Benhamou S, Girard C, Ciccione S, Roos D, Sudre J, Benvenuti S (2007) Marine turtles use geomagnetic cues during open-sea homing. Curr Biol 17:126–133

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitamura H, Arai N, Sakamoto W, Mitsunnaga Y, Tanaka H, Mukai Y, Nakamura K, Sasaki M, Yoneda Y (2005) Role of olfaction and vision in homing behaviour of black rockfish Sebastes inermis. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 322:123–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muheim R, Phillips JB, Akesson S (2006) Polarized light cues underlie compass calibration in migratory songbird. Science 313:837–839

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nieder J (1993) Distribution of juvenile blennies (Pisces, Blenniidae) in small tide-pools: result of low-tide lottery or strategic habitat selection. Bonn Zool Beitr 44:133–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips JB, Borland SC (1994) Use of a specialized magnetoreception system for homing by the eastern red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens. J Exp Biol 188:275–291

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips JB, Muheim R, Jorge PE (2010) A behavioral perspective on the biophysics of the light-dependent magnetic compass: a link between directional and spatial perception? J Exp Biol 213:3247–3255

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Qasim SZ (1957) The biology of Blennius pholis L (Teleostei). Proc Zool Soc Lond 128:161–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn TP (2005) The behavior and ecology of Pacific Salmon and Trout. University of Washington Press, Seattle

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawson GL, Rose GA (2000) Seasonal distribution and movements of coastal cod (Gadus morhua L.) in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Fish Res 49:61–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robichaud D, Rose GA (2001) Multiyear homing of Atlantic cod to spawning ground. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 58:2325–2329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez F, Broglio C, Durán E, Gómez A, Salas C (2006) Neural mechanisms of learning in teleost fish. In: Brown C, Laland K, Krause J (eds) Fish cognition and behaviour. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 243–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos RS, Almada VC, Santos AJ (1989) Field experiments and observations on homing and territoriality in intertidal blennies. In: Blanchard RJ, Brain PF, Blanchard DC, Parmigiani S (eds) Ethoexperimental approaches to the study of behaviour. Kluwer Academic Publishers, vol 48, pp 623–632

  • Wallraff HG (2005) Avian navigation: Pigeon homing as a paradigm. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams GC (1957) Homing behavior of California rocky shore fishes. Univ Calif Publ Zool 59:249–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko R, Wiltschko W (1995) Magnetic orientation in animals. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wiltschko R, Wiltschko W (2003) Avian navigation: from historical to modern concepts. Anim Behav 65:257–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

PEJ was supported by grant SFRH/BPD/64087/2009; FA by grant SFRH/BPD/63170/2009; and AG by grant SFRH/BD/42226/2007, all from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT). The UIE-ISPA is funded by FCT through the pluri-annual and programmatic funding scheme (FEDER) as research unit #331/94.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidade Investigação Eco-Etologia, ISPA, Instituto Universitário, R. Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal

    P. E. Jorge, F. Almada, A. R. Gonçalves, P. Duarte-Coelho & V. C. Almada

  2. Biological Sciences Department, Virginia Tech, 4100 Derring Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA

    P. E. Jorge

Authors
  1. P. E. Jorge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. F. Almada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. R. Gonçalves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. P. Duarte-Coelho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. V. C. Almada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. E. Jorge.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jorge, P.E., Almada, F., Gonçalves, A.R. et al. Homing in rocky intertidal fish. Are Lipophrys pholis L. able to perform true navigation?. Anim Cogn 15, 1173–1181 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-012-0541-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-012-0541-7

Keywords