Sensory integration in the hydrodynamic world of rainbow trout

Abstract

Water movements, of both abiotic and biotic origin, provide a wealth of information for fishes. They detect these water movements by arrays of hydrodynamic sensors located on the surface of the body as superficial neuromasts and embedded in subdermal lateral line canals. Recently, the anatomical dichotomy between superficial and canal neuromasts has been matched by demonstrations of a corresponding functional dichotomy. Superficial neuromasts are sensitive to water flows over the surface of the fish and are the sub-modality that participates in orientation to water currents, a behaviour known as rheotaxis. The canal neuromasts are sensitive to water vibration and it is this sub-modality that determines the localization of artificial prey. Recently, however, it has been shown that the complex behaviour of natural prey capture in the dark requires input from both lateral line sensory submodalities and here we show that the ability of trout to hold station behind a stationary object in fast flowing water also requires integration of information from both sub-modalities.