Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Sendova, Mariana

Area of Concentration

Physics

Abstract

Stingrays and related animals use pores filled with a conductive jelly like substance to perceive electric fields. The conductive nature of the gel is due to ions present within it. The salinity of the water in which the fish lives has a large impact on the nature of the gel. The salinity would increase the strength of electric fields being detected. The salinity would also have an impact in terms of ionic diffusion. The Atlantic stingray has populations living in both the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean and the freshwater of the St. John’s River system. The question asked in this thesis is: “How do these two environments affect the salinity and hence the electrical conductivity of the gel?” At 40 kHz electrical studies were done and the conductivities found. The gels were placed in series with a resistor. We measured the voltage across the resistor and then used Ohm’s law to find the current. The gel were found to be ohmic conductors. It was found that the rays from freshwater had high higher ionic concentrations in their gel.

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