Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perception of electric properties of objects in electrolocating weakly electric fish: two-dimensional similarity scaling reveals a City-Block metric

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Comparative Physiology A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

During electrolocation weakly electric fish monitor their self-emitted electric signals in order to detect and evaluate nearby objects. Individuals of the mormyrid species Gnathonemus petersii were trained to discriminate between resistive and capacitive objects that differed only in their electric properties. Capacitive properties are found almost exclusively among living objects, and are thus of special importance to the fish. Resistive and capacitive properties of objects influence the amplitude and waveform of the perceived electrolocation signals in different ways. Resistive objects change only signal amplitude, whereas capacitive objects affect both amplitude and waveform. The electro-perceptual system of weakly electric fish was investigated by systematic variation of amplitude and waveform using objects of various electric properties as electrolocation targets. After training with a particular stimulus set, the fish reacted in a graded manner to differences in both signal parameters. The perception of each stimulus dimension was found to be independent of the other one. In a kind of ‘cross modality matching’ experiment, amplitude and waveform parameters were tested against one another. For each amplitude value there was a corresponding waveform value that was judged by the fish to be equally different from the training stimuli. Because of these results, a two-dimensional “perceptual space” is postulated with the two stimulus dimensions waveform and amplitude as its axes. A scaling procedure, using Minkowski metrics, was applied to determine the fish's “perceptual metric”. The City-Block metric, and not the Euclidean metric, provided the best description of the data. The two signal dimensions were found to be separable, i.e. to combine additively in complex stimuli. The results are discussed with regard to the discrimination of animate and inanimate objects in the natural environment of the fish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

EOD :

electric organ discharge

CI :

choice index

S+:

positive training stimulus

S :

negative training stimulus

References

  • Backhaus W, Menzel R, Kreißl S (1987) Multidimensional scaling of color similarities in bees. Biol Cybern 56: 293–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Beals R, Krantz DH, Tversky A (1968) Foundations od multidimensional scaling. Psychol Rev 75: 127–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell CC (1990) Mormyromast electroreceptor organs and their afferent fibers in Mormyrid fish. III. Physiological differences between two morphological types of fibers. J Neurophysiol 63: 319–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergland DG, Doland MT (1979) Fast Fourier Transform Algorithms. In: Digital Signal Processing Committee IEEE Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing Society (ed) Programs for digital signal processing. IEEE Press, New York, pp 1.2–1–1.2–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns B, Shepp BE, McDonough D, Wiener-Ehrlich WK (1978) The relation between stimulus analyzability and perceived dimensional structure. In: Bower G (ed) The psychology of learning and motivation, vol 12. Academic Press, New York, pp 77–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn JC (1983) Spatial metrics of integral and separable dimensions. J Exp Psychol (Hum Perc) 9: 242–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner WR (1974) The processing of information and structure. Wiley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner WR (1977) The effect of absolute size on the separability of the dimensions of size and brightness. Bull Psychol Soc 9: 380–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Gellerman LW (1933) Chance orders of alternating stimuli in visual discrimination experiments. J Genet Psychol 42: 206–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Handel S, Imai S (1972) The free classification of analyzable and unanalyzable stimuli. Percept Psychophys 12: 108–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Heiligenberg W (1977) Principles of electrolocation and jamming avoidance in electric fish. In: Braitenberg V (ed) Studies of brain function, vol 1. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 1–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Hering E (1875) Zur Lehre vom Lichtsinne. 6. Mittheilung: Grundzüge der Theorie des Farbensinnes. Sitzungsber Kaiserl Akad Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathem-Naturw Classe, Abth III, Bd 70: 169–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Landsman RE (1993) The effect of captivity on the electric organ discharge and plasma hormone levels in Gnathonemus petersii (Mormyriformes). J Comp Physiol A 172: 619–631

    Google Scholar 

  • Lissmann HW, Machin KE (1958) The mechanism of object location in Gymnarchus niloticus and similar fish. J Exp Biol 35: 451–486

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronacher B (1979a) Äquivalenz zwischen Größen und Helligkeits-Unterschieden im Rahmen der visuellen Wahrnehmung der Honigbiene. Biol Cybern 32: 63–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronacher B (1979b) Beitrag einzelner Parameter zum wahrnehmungsgemäßen Unterschied von zusammengesetzten Reizen bei der Honigbiene. Biol Cybern 32: 63–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronacher B (1992a) Pattern recognition in honeybees: multidimensional scaling reveals a City-Block metric. Vision Res 32: 1847–1843

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronacher B (1992b) Influence of unrewarded stimuli on the classification of visual patterns by honey bees. Ethology 92: 205–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Ronacher B, Bautz W (1985) Human pattern recognition: Individually different strategies in analyzing complex stimuli. Biol Cybern 46: 173–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard RN (1964) Attention and the metric structure of the stimulus space. J Math Psychol 1: 54–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard RN (1980) Multidimensional scaling, tree fitting, and clustering. Science 210: 390–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard RN (1987) Towards a universal law of generalization for psychological science. Science 237: 1317–1323

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens SS (1957) On the psychophysical law. Psychol Rev 64: 153–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens SS (1959) Cross-modality validation of subjective scales for loudness, vibration, and electric shock. J Exp Psychol 57: 201–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Toerring MJ, Belbenoit P (1979) Motor programs and electroreception in mormyrid fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 4: 369–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Torgerson WS (1958) Theory and methods of scaling. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Treisman A (1986) Properties, parts and objects. In: Boff K, Kaufmann L, Thomas J (eds) Handbook of perception and human performance. Wiley, London, pp 1–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Tversky A, Krantz DH (1970) The dimensional representation and the metric structure of similarity data. J Math Psychol 7: 572–596

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G (1990) Discrimination of objects through electrolocation in the weakly electric fish, Gnathonemus petersii. J Comp Physiol A 167: 413–421

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G (1992) Electrolocation of capacitive objects in four species of pulse-type weakly electric fish. II. Electric signalling behaviour. Ethology 92: 177–192

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G (1993a) The sensing of electrical capacitances by weakly electric mormyrid fish: Effect of water conductivity. J Exp Biol 181: 157–173

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G (1993b) Capacitance discrimination in electrolocating, weakly electric pulse fish. Naturwissenschaften 80: 231–233

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G, Bell CC (1994) Responses of cells in the mormyrid electrosensory lobe to EODs with distorted waveforms: implications for capacitance detection. J Comp Physiol A 175: 83–93

    Google Scholar 

  • von der Emde G, Bleckmann H (1992) Differential responses of two types of afferents to signal distortions may permit capacitance measurement in weakly electric fish, Gnathonemus petersii. J Comp Physiol A 171: 683–694

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Regensburg, D-93040, Regensburg, Germany

    G. von der Emde

  2. Institut für Zoologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 43, D-10115, Berlin, Germany

    B. Ronacher

Authors
  1. G. von der Emde
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. B. Ronacher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

von der Emde, G., Ronacher, B. Perception of electric properties of objects in electrolocating weakly electric fish: two-dimensional similarity scaling reveals a City-Block metric. J Comp Physiol A 175, 801–812 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191852

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191852

Key words

Search

Navigation