scholarly journals Rheotaxis and prey detection in uniform currents by Lake Michigan mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi)

2003 ◽  
Vol 206 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Kanter
Keyword(s):  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Prey Detection ◽  
Cottus Bairdi ◽  
Mottled Sculpin ◽  
Uniform Currents

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic image formation by the peripheral lateral line system of the Lake Michigan mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi

2000 ◽  
Vol 355 (1401) ◽  
pp. 1111-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl Coombs ◽  
James J. Finneran ◽  
Ruth A. Conley
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Line ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Cottus Bairdi ◽  
Mottled Sculpin

Lake Michigan mottled sculpin ( Cottus bairdi ) have a lateral–line–mediated prey–capture behaviour that consists of an initial orientation towards the prey, a sequence of approach movements, and a final strike at the prey. This unconditioned behaviour can be elicited from blinded sculpin in the laboratory by both real and artificial (vibrating sphere) prey. In order to visualize what Lake Michigan mottled sculpin might perceive through their lateral line when approaching prey, we have combined anatomical, neurophysiological, behavioural and computational modelling techniques to produce three–dimensional maps of how excitation patterns along the lateral line sensory surface change as sculpin approach a vibrating sphere. Changes in the excitation patterns and the information they contain about source location are consistent with behavioural performance, including the approach pathways taken by sculpin to the sphere, the maximum distances at which approaches can be elicited, distances from which strikes are launched, and strike success. Information content is generally higher for laterally located sources than for frontally located sources and this may explain exceptional performance (e.g. successful strikes from unusually long distances) in response to lateral sources and poor performance (e.g. unsuccessful strikes) to frontal sources.

Ultrastructure of superficial neuromasts in the mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 958-959
Author(s):  
W.R. Jones ◽  
S. Coombs ◽  
J. Janssen
Keyword(s):  
Hair Cells ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Line System ◽  
Dense Cores ◽  
Sensory Hair Cells ◽  
Cytoplasmic Vesicles ◽  
Cottus Bairdi ◽  
Mottled Sculpin ◽  
Upper Third

The lateral line system of the mottled sculpin, like that of most bony fish, has both canal (CNM) and superficial (SNM) sensory end organs, neuromasts, which are distributed on the head and trunk in discrete, readily identifiable groupings (Fig. 1). CNM and SNM differ grossly in location and in overall size and shape. The former are located in subdermal canals and are larger and asymmetric in shape, The latter are located directly on the surface of the skin and are much smaller and more symmetrical It has been suggested that the two may differ at a more fundamental level in such functionally related parameters as extent of myelination of innervating fibers and the absence of efferent innervation in SNM. The present study addresses the validity of these last two features as distinguishing criteria by examining the structure of those SNM populations indicated in Fig. 1 at both the light and electron microscopic levels.All of the populations of SNM examined conform in general to previously published descriptions, consisting of a neuroepithelium composed of sensory hair cells, support cells and mantle cells, Several significant differences from these accounts have, however, emerged. Firstly, the structural composition of the innervating fibers is heterogeneous with respect to the extent of myelination. All SNM groups, with the possible exception of the TRrs and CFLs, possess both myelinated and unmyelinated fibers within the neuroepithelium proper (Fig. 2), just as do CNM. The extent of myelina- tion is quite variable, with some fibers sheath terminating just before crossing the neuroepithelial basal lamina, some just after and a few retaining their myelination all the way to the base of the hair cells in the upper third of the neuroepithelium. Secondly, all SNMs possess fibers that may, on the basis of ultrastructural criteria, be identified as efferent. Such fibers contained numerous cytoplasmic vesicles, both clear and with dense cores. In regions where such fibers closely apposed hair cells, subsynaptic cisternae were observed in the hair cell (Fig. 3).

The orienting response of Lake Michigan mottled sculpin is mediated by canal neuromasts

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Coombs ◽  
C.B. Braun ◽  
B. Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Aminoglycoside Antibiotic ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Orienting Response ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Live Prey ◽  
Mottled Sculpin ◽  
Pre Treatment

Lake Michigan mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi, exhibit a naturally occurring and unconditioned orienting response that can be triggered by both live prey and chemically inert vibrating spheres, even in blinded animals. CoCl(2)-induced reductions of the orienting response demonstrate that the lateral line is required for this behavior in the absence of non-mechanosensory cues (such as vision), but shed no light on the relative contributions of superficial and canal neuromasts to this behavior. To determine the relative roles of these two subsystems, we measured the frequency with which mottled sculpin oriented towards a small vibrating sphere before and after two treatments: (i) immersion of fish in a solution of gentamicin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic that damages hair cells in canal, but not superficial, neuromasts; and (ii) scraping the skin of the fish, which damages the superficial, but not the canal, neuromasts. To ensure that both superficial and canal neuromasts were adequately stimulated, we tested at different vibration frequencies (10 and 50 Hz) near or at the best frequency for each type of neuromast. At both test frequencies, response rates before treatment were greater than 70 % and were significantly greater than ‘spontaneous’ response frequencies measured in the absence of sphere vibration. Response rates fell to spontaneous levels after 1 day of gentamicin treatment and did not return to pre-treatment levels for 10–15 days. In contrast, response rates stayed approximately the same after superficial neuromasts had been damaged by skin abrasion. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed hair cell damage (loss of apical cilia) in canal, but not superficial, neuromasts of gentamicin-treated animals after as little as 24 h of treatment. The sensory epithelium of canal neuromasts gradually returned to normal, following a time course similar to behavioral loss and recovery of the orienting response, whereas that of superficial neuromasts appeared normal throughout the entire period. This study shows that the orienting response of the mottled sculpin is mediated by canal neuromasts.

Eimeria duszynskii sp. n. (Protozoa: Eimeriidae), a Parasite of the Mottled Sculpin, Cottus bairdi Girard

1980 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 828 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Conder ◽  
Reed Y. Oberndorfer ◽  
Richard A. Heckmann
Keyword(s):  
Cottus Bairdi ◽  
Mottled Sculpin
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