Meeting Abstract

P1-16   -   Magnetic sense of oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) Mackiewicz, AG*; Mensinger, AF; Lohmann, KJ; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC alaynam@live.unc.edu

Diverse animals, including various fish, reptiles, and birds, detect Earth’s magnetic field and use it as a cue to navigate during long-distance migrations. The ability of animals to detect magnetic fields, known as magnetoreception, enables some species to accomplish extraordinary navigational tasks that resemble what humans can achieve using GPS. Despite extensive evidence for magnetoreception in many species, how animals detect, and process magnetic field information remains a major, unsolved mystery of sensory biology. The oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) was used as a model organism to test for a magnetic sense using a behavioral assay, and then electrophysiological methods were used to investigate the neurobiology of magnetoreception. Extracellular neural activity was recorded using microwire electrodes on an implanted fish in the ambient magnetic field and during a 90 degree shift in magnetic field direction. Results suggest that toadfish can detect magnetic stimuli and that sensitivity may be influenced by external environmental conditions. Furthermore, this study will provide insight into what parts of the brain are involved in the processing and detection of magnetic stimuli and help elucidate the magnetoreception mechanism in fish.