Kaitlin Metz

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Gardiner, Jayne

Area of Concentration

Marine Biology

Abstract

Fish can use a variety of sensory information to detect, locate, and capture prey. Numerous studies have looked at the effects of sensory deprivation on prey capture behavior, but few have looked at the effects of sensory deprivation on the kinematics of jaw movements during prey capture. The largemouth bass, a species with a fusiform body shape, suitable for ram feeding, and a laterally-occluded mouth, suitable for suction feeding, can modulate between ram and suction in response to changes in the sensory information used to locate prey. The ability to modulate is expected to be limited in species that are specialized for one modality or the other. The pike killifish Belonesox belizanus is thought to be a specialized ram-feeder as it has a fusiform body and elongated jaws that allow for an enlarged gape. In this study, the prey capture kinematics of the pike killifish were studied. Fish were recorded with a high-speed camera while feeding on live guppies. The killifish were examined intact and under visual deprivation. Under control conditions, the pike killifish exhibited a forward ram strike to completely overtake the prey. Deprived of visual cues, the pike killifish exhibited a lie-in-wait technique. They waited for the prey to approach the side of the jaws and then performed a lateral side swipe strike, similar to that previously described in the Florida gar. While the overall strike behavior changed, the jaw kinematics were not significantly different among treatments. This suggests that while the strike behavior is plastic, the kinematics of capture are stereotyped. This change in prey capture under visual deprivation could allow this species to feed in environments where visual cues are reduced or blocked, thus increasing the successfulness of this invasive species.

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