The Electric Fish Project

****Be Sure to Scroll All The Way To The Bottom of The Page to See The Paper, Photos, Videos, and PowerPoint****

Project Description

A G. petersii being measured.Over the summer of 2008, I had a fantastic opportunity to travel to Israel for 6 weeks to conduct research at Hebrew University in addition to traveling around and exploring Israel. As part of the Legacy Heritage Internships for Young Scientists program (LHIYS), I was given the opportunity to work with a fascinating species of fish known to the scientific world as Gnathonemous Petersii, or more commonly known as the weakly electric fish.

Briefly, these fish use an electric organ to send out electric pulses that in turn help the fish image its surrounding environment. These EODs (Electric Organ Discharges) are also used as a tool for social interaction. My partner and I wanted to see whether the fish used the strength of the EOD of other weakly electric fish in any form of social interaction. In our experiment, we set one fish at one end of a tank and 1, 2, or 3 fish at the other end of the tank, who were isolated by a mesh net. In between we placed 1, 2 or 3 barriers. We then timed how long it took the single fish to swim to the other side of the tank depending on how many barriers and how many fish were in the group at the other end.

After 4 weeks of testing, our hypothesis that the single fish would travel more quickly towards the group as the number of fish in the group increased turned out to be correct overall. My scientific paper for this project is now online.Please check out the PowerPoint presentation linked above and the script that accompanies it for much more detailed information on this experiment. Also check out the embedded YouTube video to see one of our tests in action and the many photos that are now online. I would like to thank my mentors who were instrumental in this projects completion and my wonderful partner. I would also like to thank the Legacy Heritage Foundation, without which none of this would have been possible.

Scientific Paper

This paper would not have been completed without the help of Ms. Catherine Smith and Mrs. Driscoll, who both graciously volunteered their time to help me proof this paper.

Below you will find both a copy of my scientific paper in addition the diagrams referred to within it in a larger PowerPoint as well.

My paper is titled: Assessing Social Grouping and Pathfinding Behavior in a Weakly Electric Fish,Gnathonemus petersii, using Active Electrolocation

Media - Photo and Video

This is a video of a G. Petersii making its way through a maze with two barriers.

This is just one of the many tests I conducted in my project at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In addition, here are some of the photos of the fish and the equipment we used throughout the project.

Be sure to click through to see more!

PowerPoint Presentation

Below you will find a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation involving my research.

You can read along with the script that I followed embedded below.