Measuring Flow Velocity and Flow Direction by Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Flow Fluctuations

If exposed to bulk water flow, fish lateral line afferents respond only to flow fluctuations (AC) and not to the steady (DC) component of the flow. Consequently, a single lateral line afferent can encode neither bulk flow direction nor velocity. It is possible, however, for a fish to obtain bulk flow information using multiple afferents that respond only to flow fluctuations. We show by means of particle image velocimetry that, if a flow contains fluctuations, these fluctuations propagate with the flow. A cross-correlation of water motion measured at an upstream point with that at a downstream point can then provide information about flow velocity and flow direction. In this study, we recorded from pairs of primary lateral line afferents while a fish was exposed to either bulk water flow, or to the water motion caused by a moving object. We confirm that lateral line afferents responded to the flow fluctuations and not to the DC component of the flow, and that responses of many fiber pairs were highly correlated, if they were time-shifted to correct for gross flow velocity and gross flow direction. To prove that a cross-correlation mechanism can be used to retrieve the information about gross flow velocity and direction, we measured the flow-induced bending motions of two flexible micropillars separated in a downstream direction. A cross-correlation of the bending motions of these micropillars did indeed produce an accurate estimate of the velocity vector along the direction of the micropillars.

[1]  J. Montgomery,et al.  The lateral line can mediate rheotaxis in fish , 1997, Nature.

[2]  A. Fleck,et al.  The responses of central octavolateralis cells to moving sources , 1996, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[3]  Accepted September,et al.  Single unit activity in the peripheral lateral line system of the cichlid fish Sarotherodon niloticus L. , 1985 .

[4]  R L Puzdrowski,et al.  Peripheral distribution and central projections of the lateral-line nerves in goldfish, Carassius auratus. , 1989, Brain, behavior and evolution.

[5]  M. Konishi,et al.  A circuit for detection of interaural time differences in the brain stem of the barn owl , 1990, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[6]  J. Wersäll,et al.  A STUDY OF THE ORIENTATION OF THE SENSORY HAIRS OF THE RECEPTOR CELLS IN THE LATERAL LINE ORGAN OF FISH, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FUNCTION OF THE RECEPTORS , 1962, The Journal of cell biology.

[7]  R. Northcutt The Phylogenetic Distribution and Innervation of Craniate Mechanoreceptive Lateral Lines , 1989 .

[8]  J. Mogdans,et al.  Brainstem lateral line responses to sinusoidal wave stimuli in the goldfish, Carassius auratus. , 2001, Zoology.

[9]  R. Voigt,et al.  Responses of anterior lateral line afferent neurones to water flow. , 2000, The Journal of experimental biology.

[10]  S. Vogel,et al.  Life in Moving Fluids , 2020 .

[11]  R. Fay,et al.  The temporal evolution of masking and frequency selectivity in the goldfish (Carassius auratus). , 1989, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[12]  H. Bleckmann,et al.  Responses of the goldfish trunk lateral line to moving objects , 1998, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[13]  A. Hudspeth,et al.  Putting ion channels to work: mechanoelectrical transduction, adaptation, and amplification by hair cells. , 2000, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  H. Bleckmann,et al.  Lateral line reception in still- and running water , 2002, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[15]  Sheryl Coombs,et al.  Rheotaxis and prey detection in uniform currents by Lake Michigan mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) , 2003, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[16]  J. H. Casseday,et al.  Timing in the auditory system of the bat. , 1999, Annual review of physiology.

[17]  Joachim Mogdans,et al.  Responses of the goldfish head lateral line to moving objects , 1998, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[18]  Georg J. Schmitz,et al.  Manufacture of high-aspect-ratio micro-hair sensor arrays , 2005 .

[19]  S. Coombs,et al.  Diversity of Lateral Line Systems: Evolutionary and Functional Considerations , 1988 .

[20]  T. Pitcher,et al.  The sensory basis of fish schools: Relative roles of lateral line and vision , 1980, Journal of comparative physiology.

[21]  L. Palmer,et al.  Effect of the anesthetic tricaine (MS-222) on nerve activity in the anterior lateral line of the oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau. , 2004, Journal of neurophysiology.

[22]  J. Montgomery,et al.  Responses of lateral line receptors to water flow in the Antarctic notothenioid, Trematomus bernacchii , 2002, Polar Biology.

[23]  N. Schellart,et al.  Conduction velocity compensation for afferent fiber length in the trunk lateral line of the trout , 2002, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[24]  J G New,et al.  Strike feeding behavior in the muskellunge, Esox masquinongy: contributions of the lateral line and visual sensory systems. , 2001, The Journal of experimental biology.

[25]  C. Brücker,et al.  Dynamic response of micro-pillar sensors measuring fluctuating wall-shear-stress , 2007 .

[26]  H. Münz,et al.  Single unit activity in the peripheral lateral line system of the cichlid fishSarotherodon niloticus L. , 1985, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[27]  L. Fuiman,et al.  The role of the sensory systems of herring larvae in evading predatory fishes , 1990, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[28]  C. Campenhausen,et al.  Detection of stationary objects by the blind Cave FishAnoptichthys jordani (Characidae) , 1981, Journal of comparative physiology.

[29]  A. Borst,et al.  Neural networks in the cockpit of the fly , 2002, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[30]  Briahna Gray Artificial Arrays Could Help Submarines Make Like a Fish , 2006, Science.

[31]  H. Münz Morphology and innervation of the lateral line system inSarotherodon niloticus (L.) (cichlidae, teleostei) , 1979, Zoomorphologie.

[32]  W. Schröder,et al.  Feasability study of wall shear stress imaging using microstructured surfaces with flexible micropillars , 2005 .

[33]  H. Bleckmann Reception of hydrodynamic stimuli in aquatic and semiaquatic animals , 1994 .

[34]  C. F. Baker,et al.  The sensory basis of rheotaxis in the blind Mexican cave fish, Astyanax fasciatus , 1999, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[35]  J. Nishii,et al.  Behavioral and electrophysiological evidences that the lateral line is involved in the inter-sexual vibrational communication of the himé salmon (landlocked red salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka) , 1994, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[36]  Horst Bleckmann,et al.  Lateral line nerve fibers do not code bulk water flow direction in turbulent flow. , 2008, Zoology.

[37]  M. Späth,et al.  The effect of metacaine (MS-222) on the activity of the efferent and afferent nerves in the teleost lateral-line system , 1977, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology.