Meeting Abstract

P3.47  Saturday, Jan. 5  Wall effects during escape response in Pacific Staghorn Sculpins BANET, Amanda I*; SERENA, Giovanna; DOMENICI, Paolo; University of California, Riverside; University of Padova, Padova, Italy; International Marine Centre, Torregrande, Oristano, Italy amanda.banet@email.ucr.edu

We examined the effect of walls on escape response in Pacific Staghorn Sculpins. Traditional evaluation of escape response has been in open arenas where there are no obstacles. For species that live in structurally complex environments, it may be more ecologically relevant to understand escape response in the presence of obstacles. We measured directionality, speed, stage 1 turning rate, and stage 2 trajectories of escape response in fish a range of distances from a wall. Pacific Staghorn Sculpins alter directionality and stage 2 trajectory when close to a wall. No effect was found on speed or stage 1 turning rate, suggesting this species has the ability to avoid obstacles without sacrificing other aspects of performance.