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The peripheral sensory systems, whose morphological attributes help determine the acquisition of distinct types of information, provide a means to quantitatively compare multiple modalities of a species’ sensory ecology. We used morphological metrics to characterize multiple sensory modalities—the visual, olfactory, and mechanosensory lateral line sensory systems—for Gasterosteus aculeatus, the three-spined stickleback, to compare how sensory systems vary in animals that evolve in different ecological conditions. We hypothesized that the dimensions of sensory organs and correlations among sensory systems vary in populations adapted to marine and freshwater environments, and have diverged further among freshwater lake-dwelling populations. Our results showed that among environments, fish differed in which senses are relatively elaborated or reduced. When controlling for body length, littoral fish had larger eyes, more neuromasts, and smaller olfactory tissue area than pelagic or marine populations. We also found differences in the direction and magnitude of correlations among sensory systems for populations even within the same habitat type. Our data suggest that populations take different trajectories in how visual, olfactory, and lateral line systems respond to their environment. For the populations we studied, sensory modalities do not conform in a predictable way to the ecological categories we assigned.

 

Nitric oxide (NO) produced by the enzyme neuronal nitric oxide synthase serves as an important neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that is involved in reproductive regulation, learning, sensory processing, and other forms of neural plasticity. Here, we map the distribution ofnnos‐expressing cells in the brain and retina of the cichlid fishAstatotilapia burtoniusing in situ hybridization. In the brain,nnos‐expressing cells are found from the olfactory bulbs to the hindbrain, including within specific nuclei involved in decision‐making, sensory processing, neuroendocrine regulation, and the expression of social behaviors. In the retina,nnos‐expressing cells are found in the inner nuclear layer, presumably in amacrine cells. We also used quantitative PCR to test for differences innnosexpression within the eye and olfactory bulbs of males and females of different reproductive states and social statuses. In the eye, males express morennosthan females, and socially dominant males express morennosthan subordinate males, but expression did not differ among female reproductive states. In the olfactory bulbs, dominant males had greaternnosexpression than subordinate males. These results suggest a status‐specific function for NO signaling in the visual and olfactory systems that may be important for sensory perception related to mating or territorial interactions to maintain the social hierarchy. The widespread distribution ofnnos‐expressing cells throughout the cichlid brain is similar to that in other teleosts, with some conserved localization patterns across vertebrates, suggesting diverse functions for this important neurotransmitter system.

 

Background: The independent evolution of sympatric species pairs of threespine sticklebacks has provided a natural system to explore how divergent ecologies shape mating preferences. Research has shown that both limnetic and benthic females discriminate against heterospecific males, but not against populations of the same species from different lakes, at least when visual cues are available (Rundle et al., 2000). It is known that olfaction is used in species dis- crimination by benthic but not limnetic sticklebacks in one of the species pairs (Rafferty and Boughman, 2006), but differences across populations are unknown. Hypotheses: Females from benthic habitats make use of olfactory cues to distinguish between species but not lakes of potential mates. Limnetic females will not show preferences for males of different species or lakes when limited to only olfactory cues. Organisms: Benthic and limnetic populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Paxton and Priest Lakes, British Columbia. Methods: We exposed gravid females from each population to chemical stimuli from nesting males in a Y-maze, and recorded which stimulus a female chose and how much time was taken to make a decision. Results: We did not find significant differences between female populations in the preference for conspecific over heterospecific male odours. There was also no preference for odours of males from the same or a different lake. In all populations of females, the preference for male odours of different lakes differed between the two species of male odours: benthic male odours from a different lake were selected over limnetic male odours. The amount of time taken to make a decision differed between female populations, but only when benthic females ultimately chose a limnetic male odour over a benthic one. Conclusions: The preference for conspecific over heterospecific odours, although not strong, may still contribute to reproductive isolation in sympatric sticklebacks, particularly through interactions with other senses and environmental properties.