Behaviour and neural responses in crucian carp to skin odours from cross-order species

2012

Many teleost species respond with fright reactions to olfactory cues from injured skin of conspecifics, but they may also display responses to skin extracts of heterospecific fish. In the present study, we exposed crucian carp to skin extracts of conspecifics and three cross-order species of fish (brown trout, pike, and perch). Behavioural experiments showed that conspecific skin extracts induced fright reactions in crucian carp; extracts of brown trout induced such behaviour less frequently, while extracts of perch and pike were poor inducers of fright responses. The olfactory bulb is chemo-topically organized, and different sub-sets of neurons respond to functionally related odorants that…