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First published online May 30, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 1969-1977 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.016949
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Female choice by electric pulse duration: attractiveness of the males' communication signal assessed by female bulldog fish, Marcusenius pongolensis (Mormyridae, Teleostei)

Peter Machnik and Bernd Kramer*

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


Figure 1
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  		Fig. 1. (A) Twenty-five EODs recorded from 25 different M. pongolensis males, as used in single-dipole playback tests. Centred on zero-crossing point, superimposed, and normalised to peak amplitude P=1 V. P, head-positive first EOD phase; N, head-negative second phase. (B) Same as A but for the five EODs used in the double-dipole playback tests. (C) Comparison of playback model of 320 µs pulse duration with actual playback output. (C1) EOD as recorded from fish. (C2) Same as C1, but recorded from DAM output. (C3) Same as C1, but recorded from experimental aquarium.

 

Figure 2
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  		Fig. 2. Setup for playback experiments. Equipment for the single-dipole tests, white boxes connected by black lines; additional equipment for the double-dipole tests in grey. E1 and E2, F1 and F2, recording electrode pairs; G, grounding electrode; A1, A2, differential pre-amplifiers; AS1, AS2, amplified signals; O1, O2, oscilloscopes; DAM1, DAM2, digital-to-analogue converters; PC, personal computer; D1, D2, stimulus dipoles, with specified area `near' around; H, porous pot. TP1, TP2, external trigger pulse; S1, S2, DS1, DS2, playback pulse output.

 

Figure 3
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  		Fig. 3. (A,B) Inter-discharge interval (IDI) patterns recorded from two isolated M. pongolensis males, slowly swimming about their aquarium at night, and used for driving the output of playback pulses in the single-dipole tests. Left panels, inter-discharge interval (IDI; in ms) over time (s); right panels, histograms of patterns (together with statistical data). Mean pulse rates, 34.65 Hz (A), 34.22 Hz (B).

 

Figure 4
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  		Fig. 4. (A,B) Similar to Fig. 3, but the longer pattern shown here was used for the double-dipole tests. Inter-discharge interval (IDI) pattern of 22 s duration recorded from one slowly swimming M. pongolensis male at night. Pattern duration of 1 min achieved by concatenation such that transitions were smooth. Lower and upper panels show same data, but starting points were different.

 

Figure 5
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  		Fig. 5. (A) Shortest playback pulse of 320 µs duration. Left, EOD waveform (V by time); right, associated amplitude spectrum (amplitude in dB re: strongest amplitude=0 dB over frequency in Hz). (B) Same as A, but for longest pulse of 716 µs.

 

Figure 6
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  		Fig. 6. Relationship of rate of head butts, evoked by single-dipole playback stimulation (ordinates), as related to playback pulse duration, in µs (abscissae). Each point is the average of two repeats. (A–H) Individual graphs for eight female experimental subjects. Least-squares regression lines significantly (P<0.05) differed from slope zero except where shown as a broken line (graph D, fish E4).

 

Figure 7
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  		Fig. 7. Results of double-dipole tests. Behavioural scores of 10 experimental subjects (pooled) as related to difference in pulse pair duration (of longer pulse minus that of shortest pulse of 320 µs). Behavioural scores shown as difference between scores for longer pulse minus scores for shortest pulse. Difference scores are shown as means + 1 s.e.m. Note that for four behavioural variables the difference scores increased significantly with the difference in pulse pair duration (linear trend, significant).

 

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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2008