Date of Award

1-1-2022

Publication Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.Sc.

Department

Biological Sciences

Supervisor

C. Semeniuk

Keywords

Fish, Sensory systems, Behavioral responses, Physiological extremes

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Fishes are surrounded by various types of stimuli in their habitats which provide important information about their environments. Here, I investigated how various types of stimuli can affect the behaviour and physiology of two freshwater species: the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and the black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). In chapter 2, I tested for a synergistic response in the round goby to multimodal stimuli, by presenting acoustic, visual, and olfactory stimuli separately and simultaneously. The results showed a significant decrease in the average respiration rate during multimodal stimuli suggesting that a synergistic response to multimodal stimuli occurred. The development of multimodal traps may be useful to control round goby populations in non-native habitats since multimodal signalling may be more attractive than unimodal signalling. Chapter 3 exposed black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) to various sound intensities (160, 165, 170 and 175 dB re 1 µPa) of boat noise to investigate regeneration of ciliary bundles following noise exposure. Black Bullhead exposed to 170 and 175 dB re 1 µPa of noise had a decrease in ciliary bundle counts but regenerated within 48 hours (Experiment 1) and 72 hours (Experiment 2). Ciliary bundle counts never reached control levels following exposure of 175 dB re 1 µPa of boat noise. Anthropogenic noise can cause immediate damage to auditory epithelium, but fish can quickly recover, giving hope to mitigation efforts for development of a quiet refuge.

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