Animal experiment: sensors can help catfish'see things' in the dark

  Finding food in the dark can be complicated. Researchers from Kagoshima University in Japan and Louisiana State University in the United States say that this is why Japanese sea catfish (Japanese eel catfish) are equipped with sensors that can detect small changes in water pH. s reason. John Caprio and his colleagues suggested that these sensors allow sensor fish to feel the "breathing" of its prey, thereby helping them find food in the dark, muddy waters of their hometown of John Caprio. And colleagues found these previously undiscovered sensors in these fish.

  When researchers studied the taste system of these Japanese sea catfish, they found that the tentacles or "beards" of these fishes are very sensitive to the surrounding carbon dioxide and atomic hydrogen. Therefore, they put these fish and their favorite food, Pochecheteworm, in a hidden environment. These worms release trace amounts of carbon dioxide and atomic hydrogen when they breathe, which slightly lowers the pH of the water. Researchers found that fish spend more time near these worms than anywhere else in the aquarium. time.

  In the dark ocean, Caprio and his colleagues used an infrared camera to confirm that the camera fish had found a location. Even if the worm was far away, the pH would drop slightly. According to the researchers, when catfish find a small area of low pH, they are always active and in a specific appetite search pattern. In natural seawater with a pH of 8.1 or 8.2, catfish is the most sensitive, but when the pH of the water exceeds 8.0, the sensitivity drops sharply. These findings mean that, as expected, if the ocean continues to acidify, the hunting ability of catfish in the Sea of Japan will be impaired.