Spacial Mapping in a Jumping Fish The Frillfin Goby Bathygobius soporator

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Demski, Leo

Keywords

Cognitive Mapping, Spatial Learning, Fish Learning, Goby

Area of Concentration

Marine Biology

Abstract

The frillfin goby, Bathygobius soporator, is a small fish belonging to the family Gobiidae. This species is found in shallow waters of Bermuda, the Bahamas, eastern Florida, and the gulf coast from Florida to Brazil. They are commonly found in rocky tidepools. Researchers in Bimini noted that B. soporator was able to jump from one tide pool to another at low tide. This led Lester Aronson (1951, 1971) to conduct a series of field and laboratory experiments based on the jumping behavior of these fish. The results of the field experiments led to hypothesis that B. soporator is able to learn the spatial relationships of landmarks within its environment and to retain this information to accurately jump from one tidepool to another at low tide. The laboratory experiments provided evidence that supported this hypothesis. This set of studies is considered one of the classic experiments on spatial learning in fishes, but they have never been repeated. The current study was conducted in an attempt to recreate Aronson�s results. It was also used to determine if B. soporator that are far removed from rocky tidepools have the same ability to jump as those found in or relatively close to tidepools. B. soporator were collected from three locations in the Sarasota Bay area that were separated from the nearest tidepools by at least nine miles of shallow water and/or shoreline. These gobies were divided into equal numbers experimental and control fish. An artificial tidepool system with two small pools and one large, goal pool with shelter was created. The tidepool could have a simulated high and low tide. Experimental fish were allowed to swim around the artificial tidepool overnight before being tested for jumping behavior the next day, and control fish were not allowed to do this. The results of this experiment showed that B. soporator in the Sarasota Bay area that were far removed from tidepools could exhibit jumping behavior. It was also shown that experimental fish showed significantly more incidences of any type of jumping, jumping correctly to the second small tidepool, and jumping to the large, goal pool. The control gobies showed few incidences of jumping throughout the experiment. These findings support the conclusions of Aronson (1951, 1971) that B. soporator is able to learn the spatial relationships of landmarks and use this information to accurately jump from one tidepool to another.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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