Journal Article
Diversity of olfactory responses and skills in Astyanax mexicanus cavefish populations inhabiting different caves
Blin, M., Fumey, J., Lejeune, C., Policarpo, M., JLeclercq, J., Père, S., Torres-Paz, J., Pierre, C., Imarazene, B. and Rétaux, S.
Record Number:
4944
Year:
2020
Journal:
Diversity
Volume:
12(10), 395
Abstract:
Abstract: Animals in many phyla are adapted to and thrive in the constant darkness of subterranean
environments. To do so, cave animals have presumably evolved mechano- and chemosensory
compensations to the loss of vision, as is the case for the blind characiform cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus.
Here, we systematically assessed the olfactory capacities of cavefish and surface fish of this species in
the lab as well as in the wild, in five di erent caves in northeastern Mexico, using an olfactory setup
specially developed to test and record olfactory responses during fieldwork. Overall cavefish showed
lower (i.e., better) olfactory detection thresholds than surface fish. However, wild adult cavefish from
the Pachón, Sabinos, Tinaja, Chica and Subterráneo caves showed highly variable responses to the
three di erent odorant molecules they were exposed to. Pachón and Subterráneo cavefish showed
the highest olfactory capacities, and Chica cavefish showed no response to the odors presented.
We discuss these data with regard to the environmental conditions in which these di erent cavefish
populations live. Our experiments in natural settings document the diversity of cave environments
inhabited by a single species of cavefish, A. mexicanus, and highlight the complexity of the plastic and
genetic mechanisms that underlie cave adaptation.
Keywords: fieldwork; wild fish; comparative biology; behavior; troglomorphism; olfactory test;
infrared movies; amino acids; chondroitin; plasticity
Times Cited:
1
Relevent Species: