Is Feeding Behaviour in Crucian Carp Mediated by the Lateral Olfactory Tract?

Abstract

Experiments were performed to investigate which bundle of the olfactory tract was essential for mediating feeding behaviour in crucian carp. Fish were divided in three groups: control fish, fish with only the lateral olfactory tracts (LOTs) intact and fish with the LOTs cut. The fish were maintained in physiological saline after surgery to preserve the remaining tracts and postoperative inspections revealed the functional status of the remaining tracts. With the injection of food odour into the aquaria the scores for various feeding behaviours--biting, snapping, mouth openings and vertical posture--were not significantly different between those of the control fish and the fish with the LOT intact. Those fish that had the LOT cut but the medial and lateral parts of the medial olfactory tract (mMOT, lMOT) intact had significantly lower feeding-related scores than the other two groups of fish. The results of the present study indicate that the LOT is necessary to maintain the full qualitative and quantitative extent of feeding behaviour in crucian carp.