{"id":{"repo_id":"ottawa-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/31947"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ottawa-retro/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/31947","repository":{"repo_id":"ottawa-retro","name":"University of Ottawa","base_url":"https://ruor.uottawa.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Electrosensory-based Search Strategies In Weakly Electric Fish","abstract":"Effective exploration of the environment is a critical aspect of adaptive behaviour, enabling animals to identify food sources, potential mates, refuge locations, and other important resources. The particular strategies used during exploratory behaviours depend on a variety of factors including context, personality traits and natural ecology. Weakly electric fish rely specifically on a short-range electric sense to search and locate objects in their environment in low-light conditions. However, little is known about the exploratory strategies used. We characterized the exploratory movements of two species of weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus and Apteronotus albifrons, in a laboratory setting. Our results suggest that there are behavioural differences between species in their exploratory strategies. Apteronotus albifrons spent more time in the open, travelled at a slower speed when out in the open, and had a higher total feeding time. Interestingly, Apteronotus leptorhynchus had a higher total displacement and preference for wall-following. A subsequent study on the behavioural function of wall-following in the two species suggested that wall-following is used for exploration in weakly electric fish, rather than for protection, and is not an artifact of restricted movement and tank shape.","abstract_html":"Effective exploration of the environment is a critical aspect of adaptive behaviour, enabling animals to identify food sources, potential mates, refuge locations, and other important resources. The particular strategies used during exploratory behaviours depend on a variety of factors including context, personality traits and natural ecology. Weakly electric fish rely specifically on a short-range electric sense to search and locate objects in their environment in low-light conditions. However, little is known about the exploratory strategies used. We characterized the exploratory movements of two species of weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus and Apteronotus albifrons, in a laboratory setting. Our results suggest that there are behavioural differences between species in their exploratory strategies. Apteronotus albifrons spent more time in the open, travelled at a slower speed when out in the open, and had a higher total feeding time. Interestingly, Apteronotus leptorhynchus had a higher total displacement and preference for wall-following. A subsequent study on the behavioural function of wall-following in the two species suggested that wall-following is used for exploration in weakly electric fish, rather than for protection, and is not an artifact of restricted movement and tank shape.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rochman, Rebecca"],"institution":"Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lewis, John"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-20T16:50:48Z","date_published":"2015-01-20T16:50:48Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:39:32Z","subjects":["Weakly electric fish","Exploration","Wall-following"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2707"],"render_values":[{"text":"http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2707","href":"http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2707","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31947","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lewis, John"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rochman, Rebecca"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2015-01-20T16:50:48Z","2015"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Weakly electric fish","Exploration","Wall-following"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31947","http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2707"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Effective exploration of the environment is a critical aspect of adaptive behaviour, enabling animals to identify food sources, potential mates, refuge locations, and other important resources. The particular strategies used during exploratory behaviours depend on a variety of factors including context, personality traits and natural ecology. Weakly electric fish rely specifically on a short-range electric sense to search and locate objects in their environment in low-light conditions. However, little is known about the exploratory strategies used. We characterized the exploratory movements of two species of weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus and Apteronotus albifrons, in a laboratory setting. Our results suggest that there are behavioural differences between species in their exploratory strategies. Apteronotus albifrons spent more time in the open, travelled at a slower speed when out in the open, and had a higher total feeding time. Interestingly, Apteronotus leptorhynchus had a higher total displacement and preference for wall-following. A subsequent study on the behavioural function of wall-following in the two species suggested that wall-following is used for exploration in weakly electric fish, rather than for protection, and is not an artifact of restricted movement and tank shape."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Electrosensory-based Search Strategies In Weakly Electric Fish"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lewis, John"],"dc:creator":["Rochman, Rebecca"],"dc:date":["2015-01-20T16:50:48Z","2015"],"dc:description":["Effective exploration of the environment is a critical aspect of adaptive behaviour, enabling animals to identify food sources, potential mates, refuge locations, and other important resources. The particular strategies used during exploratory behaviours depend on a variety of factors including context, personality traits and natural ecology. Weakly electric fish rely specifically on a short-range electric sense to search and locate objects in their environment in low-light conditions. However, little is known about the exploratory strategies used. We characterized the exploratory movements of two species of weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus and Apteronotus albifrons, in a laboratory setting. Our results suggest that there are behavioural differences between species in their exploratory strategies. Apteronotus albifrons spent more time in the open, travelled at a slower speed when out in the open, and had a higher total feeding time. Interestingly, Apteronotus leptorhynchus had a higher total displacement and preference for wall-following. A subsequent study on the behavioural function of wall-following in the two species suggested that wall-following is used for exploration in weakly electric fish, rather than for protection, and is not an artifact of restricted movement and tank shape."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31947","http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-2707"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa"],"dc:subject":["Weakly electric fish","Exploration","Wall-following"],"dc:title":["Electrosensory-based Search Strategies In Weakly Electric Fish"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:39:32Z"}