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Electro-orientation in the passive electric catfish,Ictalurus nebulosus LeS

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Summary

By means of conditioning experiments it was demonstrated in the laboratory that catfish show compass-orientation using more or less homogeneous, horizontally directed electric fields. Similar fields occur in their habitat.

Evidence was found for the supposition that this kind of electro-orientation occurs spontaneously under natural circumstances.

The lowest current density (horizontal d.c. field) in which the catfish showed orientation behaviour proved to be 8 × 10−12A/mm2 in water with a specific resistivity of 25 Ohm·m.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Physiology, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    R. C. Peters & F. van Wijland

Authors
  1. R. C. Peters
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  2. F. van Wijland
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Additional information

We are indebted to Prof. Dr. S. Dijkgraaf and Dr. F. J. Verheijen for their valuable suggestions, and to Mr. W. J. G. Loos for making the drawings.

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Peters, R.C., van Wijland, F. Electro-orientation in the passive electric catfish,Ictalurus nebulosus LeS. J. Comp. Physiol. 92, 273–280 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00696615

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00696615

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