Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
Commun Biol. 2021 Oct 21;4(1):1208. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02749-z.
Hydrostatic pressure is a global cue that varies linearly with depth which could provide crucial spatial information for fish navigating vertically; however, whether fish can determine their depth using hydrostatic pressure has remained unknown. Here we show that Mexican tetras (Astyanax mexicanus) can learn the depth of a food site and consistently return to it with high fidelity using only hydrostatic pressure as a cue. Further, fish shifted their search location vertically as predicted if using pressure alone to signal depth. This study uncovers new sensory information available to fish which allows them to resolve their absolute depth on a fine scale.
静水压力是一个随深度线性变化的全局线索，可为垂直导航的鱼类提供关键的空间信息；然而，鱼类是否能利用静水压力来确定自己的深度仍然未知。在这里，我们表明，墨西哥脂鲤（Astyanax mexicanus）可以仅使用静水压力作为线索来学习食物位置的深度，并以高度的准确性持续返回该位置。此外，如果仅使用压力作为深度信号，鱼类会按照预测的那样在垂直方向上改变搜索位置。这项研究揭示了鱼类可用的新感觉信息，使它们能够精细地确定自己的绝对深度。
