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Morphology and hydro-sensory role of superficial neuromasts in schooling behaviour of yellow-eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri)

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Abstract

The lateral line system is a mechanosensory organ found in all fish species and located on the skin or in subdermal canals. The basic functional units are superficial and canal neuromasts, which are involved in hydrodynamic sensing and cohesion in schooling fish. Yellow-eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri) are an obligate schooling species found commonly in shallow coastal areas of New Zealand and Australia. Schooling is a fundamental part of their behavioural repertoire, yet little is known about the structure or functionality of the lateral line in this species. We used scanning electron microscopy to characterise the morphology of trunk superficial neuromasts. We then took a multi-sensory approach and conducted behavioural experiments comparing school structure in groups of fish with and without fully functioning lateral lines, under photopic and scotopic conditions. A highly developed hydro-sensing system exists on the trunk of yellow-eyed mullet consisting of superficial neuromasts containing hundreds of hair cells aligned, with respect to their most sensitive axis, in a rostrocaudal direction. Without functioning superficial neuromasts, schooling behaviour was disrupted under both photopic and scotopic conditions and the ability to detect stationary objects decreased. Results highlight the importance of this component of the lateral line system to schooling behaviour.

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Abbreviations

2D:

Two-dimensional

3D:

Three-dimensional

BL:

Body length

CN:

Canal neuromast

LLS:

Lateral line system

NND:

Nearest neighbour distance

SA:

Separation angle

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SN:

Superficial neuromast

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Acknowledgements

We thank the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited for the provision of facilities and animals used in this research, which forms part of the requirements for a doctoral degree, and was supported through their Seafood Production Units Wildfish 2030 Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment funded programme (Contract # C11X1203). Thanks also to Manfred Inglefeld for assistance with microscopy, Dr. Kerry Swanson, Mike Flaws and Jan MacKenzie for assisting in the preparation of SEM samples, Dr. Peter Jaksons for statistical advice, and David Ashton for developing Python code. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their time and acknowledge that their comments have helped improve earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch, 8041, New Zealand

    Karen L. Middlemiss & William Davison

  2. Seafood Production Group, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, 293 Akersten Street, Port Nelson, 7043, New Zealand

    Karen L. Middlemiss, Denham G. Cook & Alistair R. Jerrett

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  1. Karen L. Middlemiss
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  2. Denham G. Cook
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  4. William Davison
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Correspondence to Karen L. Middlemiss or Denham G. Cook.

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Ethical statement

All experiments were conducted in accordance with the University of Canterbury Animal Ethics Committee (Ref: 2015/02R). Methods were carried out in accordance with approved guidelines.

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Middlemiss, K.L., Cook, D.G., Jerrett, A.R. et al. Morphology and hydro-sensory role of superficial neuromasts in schooling behaviour of yellow-eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri). J Comp Physiol A 203, 807–817 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1192-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1192-6

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