Electroreception, such as that exhibited by South American knifefish, allows animals to navigate, sense prey, and even communicate by generating weak electric fields that reflect off objects in the environment. Scientists have drawn parallels between this unique sense and vision in people. But new research published in the September issue of Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that in contrast to vision, which paints a broad picture of the more distant environment, electroreception in weakly electric fish works over extremely short distances, providing information on the immediate environment much like the human sense of touch.
“[The researchers] combined the measurement of the physical stimuli and how distance and size of objects affect the electric image that’s cast on the surface of the fish,” said Rüdiger Krahe, who investigates the sensory processing of weakly electric fish at McGill University who did not participate in the research. Linking these characteristics to fish behavior, ...
