Middlemiss Karen L, Cook Denham G, Jerrett Alistair R, Davison William
Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Ilam, Christchurch, 8041, New Zealand.
Seafood Production Group, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, 293 Akersten Street, Port Nelson, 7043, New Zealand.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2017 Oct;203(10):807-817. doi: 10.1007/s00359-017-1192-6. Epub 2017 Jun 9.
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.
侧线系统是一种在所有鱼类中都能找到的机械感觉器官，位于皮肤或皮下管道中。其基本功能单位是表面神经丘和管道神经丘，它们参与了集群鱼类的流体动力感知和凝聚力。黄眼鲻（Aldrichetta forsteri）是一种专性集群物种，常见于新西兰和澳大利亚的浅海沿岸地区。集群是它们行为模式的一个基本组成部分，但对于该物种侧线的结构或功能却知之甚少。我们使用扫描电子显微镜来表征躯干表面神经丘的形态。然后，我们采用多感官方法，进行行为实验，比较在明视觉和暗视觉条件下，具有和不具有功能完备侧线的鱼群的集群结构。黄眼鲻的躯干上存在一个高度发达的水感测系统，该系统由表面神经丘组成，其中包含数百个毛细胞，这些毛细胞相对于其最敏感轴在头尾方向上排列。如果没有功能正常的表面神经丘，在明视觉和暗视觉条件下，集群行为都会受到干扰，并且检测静止物体的能力也会下降。研究结果突出了侧线系统这一组成部分对集群行为的重要性。
