Pre-settlement coral-reef fish larvae respond to magnetic field changes during the day
(2017) In Journal of Experimental Biology 220(16). p.2874-2877- Abstract
Observations of coral-reef fish larvae have revealed remarkably consistent orientation behaviour while swimming offshore, requiring large-scale orientation cues. However, the mechanisms underlying this behaviour are still being investigated. One potential large-scale cue for orientation is the Earth's geomagnetic field. Here, we examined the effect of magnetic field manipulations on the orientation behaviour of coral-reef fish during the pelagic larval phase. In the absence of visual cues, individual larvae responded to a 90 deg shift of the horizontal component of the magnetic field within a Helmholtz coil with a comparable shift in orientation, demonstrating that they use a magnetic compass for orientation. Our findings suggest that... (More)
Observations of coral-reef fish larvae have revealed remarkably consistent orientation behaviour while swimming offshore, requiring large-scale orientation cues. However, the mechanisms underlying this behaviour are still being investigated. One potential large-scale cue for orientation is the Earth's geomagnetic field. Here, we examined the effect of magnetic field manipulations on the orientation behaviour of coral-reef fish during the pelagic larval phase. In the absence of visual cues, individual larvae responded to a 90 deg shift of the horizontal component of the magnetic field within a Helmholtz coil with a comparable shift in orientation, demonstrating that they use a magnetic compass for orientation. Our findings suggest that geomagnetic field information guides swimming behaviour of larval fish in the pre-settlement phase. The ability to use large-scale sensory cues allows location-independent orientation of swimming, a behaviour that influences dispersal and connectivity of fish populations, which has important ecological implications for anthropogenic development of marine areas.
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- author
- O'Connor, Jack and Muheim, Rachel LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-08-15
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Dispersal, Larval ecology, Magnetoreception, Orientation behaviour
- in
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- volume
- 220
- issue
- 16
- pages
- 4 pages
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:28576824
- scopus:85027879127
- ISSN
- 0022-0949
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.159491
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9c564118-64a4-4c73-8008-7267cf2bcff8
- date added to LUP
- 2018-01-18 10:07:27
- date last changed
- 2024-03-18 03:29:38
@article{9c564118-64a4-4c73-8008-7267cf2bcff8,
abstract = {{<p>Observations of coral-reef fish larvae have revealed remarkably consistent orientation behaviour while swimming offshore, requiring large-scale orientation cues. However, the mechanisms underlying this behaviour are still being investigated. One potential large-scale cue for orientation is the Earth's geomagnetic field. Here, we examined the effect of magnetic field manipulations on the orientation behaviour of coral-reef fish during the pelagic larval phase. In the absence of visual cues, individual larvae responded to a 90 deg shift of the horizontal component of the magnetic field within a Helmholtz coil with a comparable shift in orientation, demonstrating that they use a magnetic compass for orientation. Our findings suggest that geomagnetic field information guides swimming behaviour of larval fish in the pre-settlement phase. The ability to use large-scale sensory cues allows location-independent orientation of swimming, a behaviour that influences dispersal and connectivity of fish populations, which has important ecological implications for anthropogenic development of marine areas.</p>}},
author = {{O'Connor, Jack and Muheim, Rachel}},
issn = {{0022-0949}},
keywords = {{Dispersal; Larval ecology; Magnetoreception; Orientation behaviour}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
number = {{16}},
pages = {{2874--2877}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
title = {{Pre-settlement coral-reef fish larvae respond to magnetic field changes during the day}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.159491}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.159491}},
volume = {{220}},
year = {{2017}},
}