Ring a bell? Variable recognition of a multicomponent auditory stimulus associated with predation risk by zebrafish responding to full and partial matches

What is it about?

Prey assess risk of predation through cues they gather from the environment. Here, we tested how zebrafish may use acoustic signals to perform this task. Specifically, we tested if they can learn to associate a three-note chord with risk when the three notes are paired with chemical alarm cues released from damaged skin (simulating a predator attack). We exposed fish once to the combination of three notes and alarm cue then tested them with either the three notes, 2 of the three notes, or only one of the three notes. We found that fish responded to the three-note chord and the two-note stimulus with antipredator behavior but they did not respond when only one note was replayed. These results indicate that fish can learn to associate risk with a multicomponent auditory cue, and respond when most of the original cue is present but either fail to recognize the cue when one note is played or interpret a single note to indicate a low level of risk. Auditory stimuli are a relatively unexplored dimension of risk assessment in fishes and one that lends itself to experimental manipulation studies.

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