Chirping and asymmetric jamming avoidance responses in the electric fish <i>Distocyclus conirostris</i>.
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Abstract | :
Electrosensory systems of weakly electric fish must accommodate competing demands of sensing the environment (electrolocation) and receiving social information (electrocommunication). The jamming avoidance response (JAR) is a behavioral strategy thought to reduce electrosensory interference from conspecific signals close in frequency. We used playback experiments to characterize electric organ discharge frequency (EODf), chirping behavior and the JAR of , a gregarious electric fish species. EODs of had low frequencies (∼80-200 Hz) that shifted in response to playback stimuli. Fish consistently lowered EODf in response to higher-frequency stimuli but inconsistently raised or lowered EODf in response to lower-frequency stimuli. This led to jamming avoidance or anti-jamming avoidance, respectively. We compare these behaviors with those of closely related electric fish ( and ) and suggest that the JAR may have additional social functions and may not solely minimize the deleterious effects of jamming, as its name suggests. |
Year of Publication | :
2018
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Journal | :
The Journal of experimental biology
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Volume | :
221
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Issue | :
Pt 17
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Date Published | :
2018
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ISSN Number | :
0022-0949
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URL | :
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.178913
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DOI | :
10.1242/jeb.178913
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Short Title | :
J Exp Biol
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