Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Neurobiology

Hydrodynamic stimuli and the fish lateral line

Abstract

Sensory systems need to distinguish biologically relevant stimuli from background noise. Here we investigate how the lateral-line mechanosensory system of the fish senses minute water motions1 in the vicinity while exposed to running water. We find that one class of receptor in the lateral line, the canal neuromasts, can respond to hydrodynamic stimuli even in the presence of unidirectional water flow, whereas superficial neuromasts, which predominate in still-water fish, cannot.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The effect of unidirectional water flow on the responses of primary lateral-line afferents to a stationary vibrating sphere (diameter 10 mm).

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bleckmann, H. Progress in Zoology Vol. 41 (ed. Rathmayer, W.) 1– 115 (Fischer, Stuttgart, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Northcutt, R. G. in The Mechanosensory Lateral Line: Neurobiology and Evolution (eds Coombs, S., Görner, P. & Münz, H.) 17– 78 (Springer, New York, 1989).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Kroese, A. B. A. & Schellart, N. A. M. J. Neurophysiol. 68, 2212–2221 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Denton, E. J. & Gray, J. A. B. in The Mechanosensory Lateral Line: Neurobiology and Evolution (eds Coombs, S., Görner, P. & Münz, H.) 229–246 (Springer, New York, 1989).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Hanke, W., Brücker, C. & Bleckmann, H. J. Exp. Biol. 203, 1193– 1200 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Jakubowski, M. Acta Biol. Cracov. Ser. Zool. 10, 69– 81 (1967).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bleckmann, H. & Münz, H. Brain Behav. Evol. 35, 240–250 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dijkgraaf, S. Biol. Rev. 38, 51–106 ( 1963).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Marshall, N. B. Explorations in the Life of Fishes (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Montgomery, J. C., Baker, C. F. & Carton, A. G. Nature 389, 960– 963 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Batschelet, E. Circular Statistics in Biology (Academic, London, 1981 ).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Bleckmann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Engelmann, J., Hanke, W., Mogdans, J. et al. Hydrodynamic stimuli and the fish lateral line. Nature 408, 51–52 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35040706

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35040706

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing