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First published online July 26, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 2971-2978 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01129

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The importance of the lateral line in nocturnal predation of piscivorous catfish

Kirsten Pohlmann^1,*, Jelle Atema² and Thomas Breithaupt^1,

¹ Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
² Boston University Marine Program, MBL, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

View larger version (32K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Wake following paths of (A) intact and (B) taste-ablated catfish. C, catfish; G, guppy. Numbers mark track points at similar times (e.g. at the time the catfish was in position C3 the guppy was at G3). Time points were: (1) 24.1 s prior to attack in A and 30.2 s in B, (2) 18 s, (3) 12 s, (4) 7 s in A and B. Distances between predator and prey at these different times in A were 17 cm (time 1), 29 cm (time 2), 21 cm (time 3), 9 cm (time 4); in B, 13 cm (time 1), 22 cm (time 2), 9 cm (time 3), 5 cm (time 4). Note that the ablated catfish, while already in its proximity, follows the prey for a longer distance before attacking (time 3, time 4).

View larger version (15K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Temporal parameters characterizing predatory behaviour of unrestrained and of lateral-line (LL) and taste-ablated catfish. (A) Time to first attack; (B) time to capture; (C) time spent close to a prey; (D) time spent hovering. Each box chart indicates mean (square) and percentiles: 75% (box upper frame), median (box mid line), 25% (box lower frame). Asterisks indicate treatment groups that were significantly different from their respective control group (logistic regression followed by contrast analysis: *P<0.05; **P<0.01); N values are given for each box.