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From Morphology To Neural Information: The Electric Sense Of The Skate, Marcelo Camperi, Timothy C. Tricas, Brandon R. Brown
From Morphology To Neural Information: The Electric Sense Of The Skate, Marcelo Camperi, Timothy C. Tricas, Brandon R. Brown
Physics and Astronomy
Morphology typically enhances the fidelity of sensory systems. Sharks, skates, and rays have a well-developed electrosense that presents strikingly unique morphologies. Here, we model the dynamics of the peripheral electrosensory system of the skate, a dorsally flattened batoid, moving near an electric dipole source (e.g., a prey organism). We compute the coincident electric signals that develop across an array of the skate's electrosensors, using electrodynamics married to precise morphological measurements of sensor location, infrastructure, and vector projection. Our results demonstrate that skate morphology enhances electrosensory information. Not only could the skate locate prey using a simple population vector algorithm, but …
Modeling An Electrosensory Landscape: Behavioral And Morphological Optimization In Elasmobranch Prey Capture, Brandon R. Brown
Modeling An Electrosensory Landscape: Behavioral And Morphological Optimization In Elasmobranch Prey Capture, Brandon R. Brown
Physics and Astronomy
Most biological sensory systems benefit from multiple sensors. Elasmobranchs (sharks, skates and rays) possess an array of electroreceptive organs that facilitate prey location, mate location and navigation. Here, the perceived electrosensory landscape for an elasmobranch approaching prey is mathematically modeled. The voltages that develop simultaneously in dozens of separate sensing organs are calculated using electrodynamics. These voltages lead directly to firing rate modifications in the primary afferent nerves. The canals connecting the sense organs to an elasmobranch's surface exhibit great variation of location and orientation. Here, the voltages arising in the sense organs are found to depend strongly on the …