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JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH | VOLUME 19 | NUMBER 6 | PAGES 735-747 | 1997
© Oxford University Press

research-article

Detection of infrasonic water oscillations by copepodids of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Copepoda Caligida)

Peter Andreas Heuch1 and Erik Karlsen2

Department of Biology, Section of Marine Zoology and Marine Chemistry, University of Oslo PO Box 1064 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo 1Present address: National Veterinary Institute, Fish Health Section PO Box 8156 Dep., N-0033 Oslo, Norway 2University of Oslo, Biological Station N-1440 Drøbak, Norway

Received on June 27, 1996; accepted on February 17, 1997 The cues that trigger infection of fish by parasitic copepods are largely unknown. We show that copepodids of the parasitic copepod Lepeophtheirus salmonus respond to uniform, linear accelerations, which are similar to those found in front of a swimming fish. Copepodid responses to vibrations at 1, 3, 5 and 10 Hz frequency were filmed and analysed. The animals were stimulated in a completely water-filled, clear perspex chamber, which was suspended like a swing in four wires from a steel frame. The chamber was moved by a vibrator which was fed amplified signals from a sine wave oscillator. On stimulation, copepodids responded by executing swimming bursts of 1–3 s duration. There was no apparent preferred swimming direction. Sensitivity was highest at 3 Hz, with a threshold value of 5 x 10–3 m s–2 (rms). At 1 Hz the threshold was <6 dB higher, and sensitivity was markedly reduced at 10 Hz, where the threshold was 1.8 x 10–1 m s–2 rms. These results indicate that the copepodids may react to the near-field accelerations produced within centimetres of a swimming fish. Acceleration sensitivity may therefore be a cue that triggers high-speed swimming and subsequent infestation of the host. If this ability is present in holoplanktonic copepods, it may facilitate detection and escape from predatory fish.


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Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
P. A. Heuch, M. H. Doall, and J. Yen
Water flow around a fish mimic attracts a parasitic and deters a planktonic copepod
J. Plankton Res., March 1, 2007; 29(suppl_1): i3 - i16.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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