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Science 3 November 1967:
Vol. 158. no. 3801, pp. 672 - 673
DOI: 10.1126/science.158.3801.672
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Articles

Chemical Communication in Social Behavior of a Fish, the Yellow Bullhead (Ictalurus natalis)

John H. Todd 1, Jelle Atema 1, and John E. Bardach 1

1 School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Studies of behavior in yellow bullheads showed that they recognized individuals of their own species by means of pheromones. After training by reward and punishment, blinded bullheads were able to discriminate between the odors of two donor fish, but they lost this ability when deprived of their sense of smell. The main source of the intraspecific chemical stimuli involved in recognition is the mucus. A change in status after fighting was chemically communicated to other bullheads.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)