Freshwater Fish Release Urinary Pheromones in a Pulsatile Manner

Appelt, Christopher W.; Sorensen, Peter W.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4733-4_20

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Capitalizing on this physiological constraint, many freshwater fishes have evolved pheromonal signals as a means of communicating important information to potential mates and rivals (Appelt and Sorensen, 1999;Kodric-Brown and Strecker, 2001;Stacey, 2011). Pheromones are typically defined as substances, or mixtures of substances, that are released by individuals into the environment where they induce specific, adaptive and largely innate biological responses in conspecifics that are mutually beneficial to both the sender and receiver (Karlson and Luscher, 1959;Sorensen et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chemosensory signaling is a key communication channel in fishes and has been best studied in the goldfish Carrasius auratus where both males and females release pheromones to prime the opposite sex and synchronize spawning (Dulka et al, 1987;Sorensen, 1992;Appelt and Sorensen, 1999;Stacey and Sorensen, 2005;Appelt and Sorensen, 2007;Stacey, 2011). Many other fish species also use pheromones to influence the behavior and physiology of conspecifics, which has important consequences for reproductive success Gerlach, 2006;Barata et al, 2008b;Barata et al, 2008a;Rosenthal et al, 2011), and this phenomenon is conserved through mammals (Dulac and Torello, 2003;Swaney and Keverne, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Maruska

Fernald

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYChemosensory signaling is crucial for communication in many fish species, but little is known about how signalers modulate chemical output in response to sensory information and social context. Here, we tested the hypothesis that dominant male African cichlid fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) use urine signals during social interactions, and demonstrate that this signaling depends on social context (reproductive; territorial) and on available sensory information (visual cues; full interaction). We injected males with dye to visualize urine pulses and exposed them to full sensory information or visual cues alone of four types: (1) dominant male; (2) gravid (reproductively receptive) females; (3) mouth-brooding (non-receptive) females; or (4) control (no fish). We found that males released urine sooner and increased their urination frequency when visually exposed to gravid females as compared with mouth-brooding females and or no-fish controls. While males could distinguish female reproductive states using visual cues alone, courtship behavior rates were ~10-fold higher when they fully interacted with gravid females compared with receiving visual cues alone. Males also increased their urination and territorial behaviors when exposed to another male, suggesting that chemical signals may convey information on dominance status. These data support the hypothesis that dominant males use urine as a chemical signal and adjust the frequency of their urine output based on contextual information.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Maruska

Fernald

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…An anosmic or sham-operated male was injected intramuscularly with 2.4·mg isosulfan blue (Sigma-Aldrich Química, S.A., Sintra, Spain) in 20·µl 0.9% saline (Appelt and Sorensen, 1999) and put back in isolation. The following morning, the behaviour of the male was video-taped for a control period of 45·min, during which the frequency and duration of urine pulses (made visible by the isosulfan blue) were recorded.…”

Section: Behaviour Of Anosmic and Sham-operated Malesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory discrimination of female reproductive status by male tilapia(Oreochromis mossambicus)

Miranda

Almeida

Hubbard

et al. 2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY The current study investigated whether discrimination of sexual status of female tilapia by males is mediated by olfaction. Size-matched groups of female tilapia were assigned as pre- or post-ovulatory according to the time since their last ovulation (15-19 days pre-ovulatory, N=7; 1-3 days post-ovulatory, N=8). Female-conditioned water and body fluids(urine, bile, faeces and plasma) were assessed for olfactory potency in males by recording the electro-olfactogram (EOG). Water extracts, urine and faeces from pre-ovulatory females all evoked significantly larger amplitude EOGs in male fish (N=6), with correspondingly lower thresholds of detection,than those from post-ovulatory females. Plasma and bile evoked very large amplitude EOGs in males but with no differences between the two groups of females. Anosmic males (N=6) did not behave differently towards pre-or post-ovulatory females, while sham-operated males (N=6) showed a marked increase in urination rate towards pre-ovulatory females. We conclude that the ability of male tilapia to discriminate between females of differing reproductive status is mediated by odorants released into the water, probably via the urine and faeces, by pre-ovulatory females.

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“…In the aquatic environment, urine cues are also used in kin recognition by Atlantic salmon (Moore et al 1994) and some reproductive and status pheromones in fish are likely mediated via urine (Appelt and Sorensen 1999;Barata et al 2008). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintenance of dominance is mediated by urinary chemical signals in male European lobsters,Homarus gammarus

Skog

Chandrapavan

Hallberg

et al. 2009

Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology

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We studied the relevance of urine cues in Homarus gammarus dominance maintenance, hypothesising that urinary signals are necessary to mediate recognition of former opponents. Males in size-matched pairs interacted on two consecutive days with or without blocking urine release by adding catheters to both contestants on the second day. European lobsters established dominance in a first fight, and fight duration and aggression levels decreased strongly from first to second day in animals with free urine release, indicating the maintenance of this dominance relationship. If urine was blocked on the second day, fight durations were long in both first and second day interactions. Results demonstrate that urine signals contribute to the maintenance of dominance in H. gammarus males.

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Freshwater Fish Release Urinary Pheromones in a Pulsatile Manner

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Olfactory discrimination of female reproductive status by male tilapia(Oreochromis mossambicus)

Maintenance of dominance is mediated by urinary chemical signals in male European lobsters,Homarus gammarus

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